Guernsey-based shipping company Taylor Maritime Investments (TMI) has entered into a deal with rival Grindrod Shipping to buy the Nasdaq and JSE-listed firm.
TMI’s subsidiary Good Falkirk acquired a 26% stake in Grindrod Shipping in 2021. At the end of August 2022, Good Falkirk made a buyout offer for $26 a share – comprising $21 in cash per each ordinary issued share, and a special dividend of $5.00 per share.
The deal values Grindrod Shipping at $506 million (around R9.8 billion), including the dividend.
“Grindrod shareholders holding their shares on the JSE will receive their offer consideration in the equivalent amount of South African rand,” Grindrod Shipping said in a market update on Wednesday.
The exchange rate to determine the rand amount will be set out in the formal offer documentation.
Grindrod Shipping said that the “offer in cash provides an immediate and certain exit opportunity for Grindrod shareholders at an attractive premium to Grindrod’s undisturbed share price at a time of significant market volatility and economic uncertainty.”
Click here for Grindrod Shipping’s share price and more data
Grindrod Shipping’s share price rose over 6.5% on the JSE, and over 5% on Nasdaq on Wednesday following the announcement of the deal.
Grindrod Shipping, which is now headquartered in Singapore, originated in South Africa with roots dating back to 1910 with the creation of Grindrod & Company, a clearing and forwarding agency, by Captain John Grindrod.
Grindrod & Company would eventually become Grindrod Limited, and that company spun out Grindrod Shipping in 2018.
Grindrod Shipping’s drybulk business, which operates under the brand “Island View Shipping” includes a fleet of 31 vessel.
The parties said the deal would make TMI “a significant market player in the mid-sized dry-bulk industry with a combined fleet of 58 vessels”.
