Hits&Misses

Canal+ ups its offer for MultiChoice; business confidence slips in Q1

CANAL+ has raised its offer, from R105 to R125, to buy all the shares of MultiChoice it does not already own. The previous offer was rejected by the pay-TV group’s board for undervaluing the company. Canal+ is the biggest shareholder in MultiChoice with 35%. The French pay-TV group will make the mandatory offer by April 8. Canal+ wants to create a group with scale to compete with US giants dominating the global video content market.

BRIMSTONE reported a R421.9m profit for the year to December, up 30%, lifted by a strong performance by its major associate Oceana

Group, the largest fishing company in Africa. Brimstone’s total assets increased by 5% to R12.3bn. Brimstone, which has investments in financial services, property, education and health care, declared a dividend of 40c per share, up from 33c the previous year.

SHARES in egg and animal feeds business Quantum jumped 72% on Thursday, its biggest one-day gain since listing in 2014. There is speculation that a takeover battle is looming. Quantum’s shareholders include Dubai-registered Braemar Trading and Aristotle Africa S.A.R.L. On Tuesday, Astral announced that it has sold its 9.8% in Quantum to Country Bird, increasing its stake to 15.6%.

BUSINESS confidence slipped in the first quarter of 2024 amid continued load-shedding, port congestion and inflation, according to a survey. The business confidence index fell to 30 points from 31 points in the previous three months, according to a survey by the Rand Merchant Bank compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research.

SIBANYE-STILLWATER this week reported a R37bn annual loss and scrapped its final dividend, hurt by a slump in platinum group metal (PGM) prices. The fall in prices of PGMs, mostly used by carmakers to curb toxic emissions, is forcing mining companies to restructure and cut jobs. CEO Neal Froneman said more restructuring might be required, especially at Sibanye’s US PGM operations and the Sandouville nickel refinery in France.

MUSTEK’s revenue for the six months to December declined 13% to R4.27bn as the business was hit by the economic downturn, high inflation and high interest rates, as well as poor consumer and investor demand. The company’s green energy products, a key driver of revenue in the previous comparative period, fell 55%. The group’s two largest segments, Mustek and Rectron, saw revenue decline 15% and 9.9% respectively. Mustek’s operating profit dropped 25.4% to R180.6m. —