The Sunday Mail
Africa Moyo
NATIONAL Social Security Authority (NSSA) chairman Mr Robin Vela and British business magnate Mr Nicholas van Hoogstraten traded barbs over the circumstances through which the latter snapped up a 7 percent stake in listed CFI from the Mining Industry and Pension Fund (MIPF) last week.
Mr van Hoogstraten bought the shares on Monday at US13c per share. Curiously, the same shares are now being traded at a premium (US14,25 by close of trade Thursday) barely a week after being bought for a song.
NSSA believes that at US13c, the shares were sold at a 77 percent discount to the bids that were being made by “credible” buyers.
Market watchers say the deal could have prejudiced Government, which owns MIPF. The 109-year-old CFI is involved in poultry, retail and specialised activities.
NSSA Board chairperson Mr Robin Vela told The Sunday Mail Business last week that the acquisition of MIPF shares by Mr Van Hoogstraten is questionable, and is planning to approach the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to institute an investigation into the transaction.
“I will be writing to the Zacc requesting that they investigate how MIPF sold its 7 percent (share)holding in CFI to Van Hoogstraten on Monday (last week) at 13c per share.
“The shares have recently attracted significant interest from credible quarters at some 23c a share. The whole trade reeks of corruption and again Government loses. “When will this pathetic theft be stopped?” said Mr Vela.
NSSA’s chief investment officer Mr Herbet Hungwe is understood to have enquired about the MIPF shares on June 2, 2017 but was reportedly told by MIPF management that the “shares had long been traded”.
Mr Vela said there is “certainly something underhand” requiring the intervention of Zacc that has gone on regards the acquisition of MIPF shares by Mr Van Hoogstraten, considering that Stalap Investments – the majority shareholders in CFI with almost 43 percent shareholding – is set to make a mandatory offer to minorities in the near future at way over US13c per share.
Stalap Investments is an investment vehicle owned by Zimre Holdings Limited.
Mr Van Hoogstraten, whose interest in CFI is held through various investment vehicles, holds 35 percent in the firm through Messina Investments, making him the second-largest investor. NSSA also believes that MIPF officials should also be made to account.
Added Mr Vela: “The individuals at MIPF who signed off the sale must be brought to account and be made to compensate MIPF for the loss they occasioned to the parastatal.
“It pains me how this daylight theft of Government property seems to continually go on unabated and unchecked with zero consequence for the culprits.”
Section 9 (Note 1A) of the ZSE listing rules allows an investor who reaches a threshold of 35 percent shareholding to offer to buy out minorities. But Mr van Hoog, who claimed the deal was above board, fired back.
“There is nothing to investigate here. What you need to investigate is the sale by NSSA of its shares to Stalap for US12c when they had a standing offer from us of US35c per share. It is also not true that these shares were sold on Monday (last week). We bought the shares a year ago but were put to the market this week (last week).
“I have documentary evidence to support what I am talking about,” he said in an interview last week.
NSSA sold its 12,9 percent – representing 13 643 807 shares – to Stalap at about 10,55c per share on February 28, 2017. The deal effectively handed over control of CFI to the Rudland brothers, Messrs Simon and Hamish.
Immediately after NSSA sold its CFI stake, Mr Vela said the deal was part of the social security organisation’s “re-organisation . . . together with ZHL to gain control of CFI”.
Mr Van Hoogstraten slammed the transaction and described it as a “Mickey Mouse” deal. Mr Vela however dismissed Mr Van Hoogstraten’s claims of abuse of pensioner funds, saying when NSSA sold its stake to Stalap, it priced in the value as US35c and expects to recoup that value given its shareholding in Zimre Holdings Limited (ZHL) and, by extension, in Stalap.
“Why did he (Mr Van Hoogstraten) not pay 35c to MIPF? Or did he (pay) to another?” queried Mr Vela.
