JSE-listed freight logistics com- pany Grindrod, through its subsidiary, Grindrod Trading Holdings, has acquired a 20% share in Senwes.
The transaction is valued at R444-million, at a price of R12.29 a share.
Established in 1909, Senwes is an agribusiness with retail and grain operations through-out the central region of South Africa, as well as grain trading offices in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.
The company’s main busi-ness is the provision of input products for agricultural production, market access for grain produce, as well as financial, technical, insurance and logistical services to grain producers.
Grindrod, through its four divisions of freight, trading, shipping and financial services, specialises in the trading, handling and transportation of bulk commodities, including agricultural products, by road, rail and sea.
“Grindrod continues to exe-cute its strategy to provide a complete service offering that includes origination, proces-sing, hedging, distribution, supply chain management, risk management and financing activities for its customers in the agroprocessing industry,” says Grindrod Trading CEO Wayne Hartmann.
“We are extremely fortunate to have been able to procure Grindrod as a strategic share-holder and we foresee that given both parties’ strategies, major opportunities within each of our sectors could be pursued,” adds Senwes MD Francois Strydom.
Grindrod will nominate one director to the board of Senwes.