Van Hoogstraten lines up proxies for CFI battle

Source: Van Hoogstraten lines up proxies for CFI battle | The Financial Gazette August 24, 2017

By Staff Reporter

BRITISH tycoon Nicholas Van Hoogstraten’s investment vehicle, Messina Investments (Messina), is lining proxies for the battle for control at agro-industrial concern, CFI Holdings (CFI).

Van Hoogstraten who has been buying shares from CFI minorities over the past two weeks told The Financial Gazette that he had managed to secure proxies against rival CFI suitor Stalap Investments (Stalap).

“My son has advised me that the total number of shares Messina has bought as a result of their 46 cent offer is 476 216 plus another 243 000 odd that are in the pipeline where paperwork is not yet completed.
“Messina has also received a lot of support from shareholders who do not actually wish to sell their shares, but have agreed to give Messina their proxy vote in any disputes with Stalap/NSSA these amount to another 600 000 plus shares,” he said.

Stalap ― an investment vehicle owned by Zimre Holdings (Zimre)  announced two weeks ago that its mandatory offer to buy out minorities in the agro firm had found no takers.

The two rival investment vehicles have been jostling to get majority shareholding in the agro-industrial concern, which has seen the CFI share firming from 18 cents on the day Stalap’s initial mandatory offer was announced to close Tuesday’s trades at 61 cents.

Van Hoogstraten hopes to secure the remaining 17 percent of the 106,2 million total issued shares in CFI, or at least trump Stalap’s present shareholding. At the moment Van Hoogstraten’s investment vehicle holds interest of up to 42 percent in CFI, making it the largest shareholder, while Stalap holds a 41 percent stake in the agro-industrial concern.