Murray & Roberts Sells Stake in Zimbabwe Unit to Local Investors

Murray & Roberts Ltd. (MR) of South Africa and Trinvest Investments Ltd. of Zimbabwe sold their 47 percent stake in Murray & Roberts Zimbabwe to Zumbani Capital, the South African company said.

Zumbani Capital is made up of Zimbabwean investors including the current chairman and the previous chief executive officer of Murray & Roberts Zimbabwe, Ed Jardim, a spokesman for Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. (MUR), said in an e-mailed response to questions today. Murray & Roberts Ltd. of South Africa is the wholly owned, unlisted operating unit of Murray & Roberts Holdings.

Murray & Roberts Zimbabwe is “heavily focused on manufacturing and no longer fits within the existing Construction Africa and Middle East operating platform or the group’s Africa strategy,” Jardim said.

The Herald, a Harare-based newspaper, reported earlier today that the stake was acquired for 1.47 U.S. cents a share, compared with Murray & Roberts Zimbabwe’s last-traded price of 7 cents in a “special bargain” on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

Regulatory approval for the transaction has been received and Murray & Roberts Zimbabwe is expected to change its name within the next three months, Jardim said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janice Kew in Johannesburg at jkew4@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.