|
|
|
Gold Reef holders want Tsogo deal David Carte Johannesburg - Gold Reef shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of their company's merger with Tsogo Sun on Monday. No fewer than 99.27% of those eligible to vote favoured all the resolutions making possible the merger. Not one shareholder offered a question or a comment at the meeting at Gold Reef City on Monday. As interested parties, Tsogo Sun and the executive directors could not vote their shares. As a result shareholders present and with proxies represented only 40% of the shares. Of those only 84 300 votes of the 119m shares represented at the meeting opposed the deal. There were 2 386 abstentions. Chairman Dr Enos Banda told the meeting: "For the transaction by which Gold Reef will be reversed into Tsogo to become unconditional we still need ratification by the competition authorities and the various gambling boards." An attorney representing the Krok family said the five members of the family for which he worked favoured the deal for two reasons: shares in the larger company would be less volatile and they would also be more liquid. The Kroks will be diluted from 21% of Gold Reef to 3% of the merged company. Tsogo shareholders also voted in favour. Chairman Banda and CEO Steven Joffe - together will all the executive directors - will be out of a job when the transaction is consummated. Both told Moneyweb they had no particular plans for the future. The executives have a great consolation for letting their jobs go - a golden handshake of R42.6m, not to mention profits on their holding of about 3% of the shares. Joffe has been the boss since the first casino was established at Gold Reef City and oversaw the additions of the Mykonos, Golden Horse, Garden Route, Welkom, the Silver Star and Queenstown casinos. "The combined group will be pre-eminent in southern Africa. The market here is nearly saturated and the group needs to expand overseas. Tsogo will have the size and strength to do that."
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |