Optasia makes grand entry

JSE: R5.2BN PAYDAY FOR EARLY INVESTORS

- Adriaan Kruger

The kudu horn will have a special tone tomorrow when it announces the listing of Optasia on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The listing of Optasia by Channel VAS Investment Limited will not only be the biggest listing on the JSE this year, but also one of the most significant of a new company on the local exchange in years.

Optasia announced last Thursday that it successfully concluded a private placing of more than 342 million shares at R19 to the value of R6.5 billion. The offer price indicates a market capitalisation of R23.5 billion.

The company issued approximately 68.5 million new shares to raise R1.3 billion in new capital, while existing shareholders offered nearly 274 million shares as part of the offering to new investors to facilitate a controlled sale of shares by the early shareholders who wanted to lighten their holdings.

And quite a big payday it is too - the early shareholders are pocketing more than R5.2 billion. It seems Optasia has found favour with SA investors.