COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Woodford Group partners with Enterprise HoldingsSouth African-based Woodford Group has partnered with Enterprise Holdings, the world’s largest vehicle rental business to bring the global giant's services to South Africa for the first time.The Woodford Group, which is SA’s largest independent car hire company with a presence at all major airports and centres with a fleet of more than 2 500 vehicles across its three divisions, said the partnership, which was announced on Wednesday, will feature car rental options from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car.These would be available at all Woodford Car Hire’s current and upcoming locations including Cape Town International Airport, OR Tambo International Airport, King Shaka International Airport. It will also include "four inner city branches at key locations across the country".Woodford Group CEO, Mohamed Owais Suleman said the company was "delighted to be partnering with an industry giant like Enterprise, whose values and approach match our own".Suleman said Enterprise’s "expertise and knowledge" would "only enhance our own resolve to realise our goal of enhancing lives through effective mobility solutions".Jon Flansburg, Enterprise Holdings' assistant vice-president of global franchising for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the firm liked partnering with "local providers that have a strong reputation for customer service excellence".-Fin24Tharisa plans to spend billions in ZimSouth Africa's Tharisa plans to spend R7.2 billion on developing a 194 000 ounce per year platinum group metal (PGM) mine in Zimbabwe, chief executive Phoevos Pouroulis said on Wednesday.Tharisa, a co-producer of chrome concentrates and PGMs in South Africa, owns 70% of Karo Mining Holdings, developer of the Karo PGM project on Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, about 100 kilometres south-west of the capital Harare. Its site is close to Impala Platinum's Zimplats operations.Pouroulis said the ground-breaking for the first phase of the Karo mine would take place in December 2022, with mine construction expected to be completed by July 2024.The Karo project is an open pit mine which would deliver the first mineral ore to the mill in the next two years, Pouroulis said during a briefing on the project."We are fully licenced and permitted and we believe this is a low-risk approach to any mining opportunity being large-scale, open pit, low cost and adopting a multi-phase development approach," he added.He said that the Karo mine production plan had been upgraded to 194 000 ounces of PGMs per year, from 150 000 ounces initially.Karo Mining Holdings managing director Bernard Pryor said the company was in talks with renewable energy firm Total Eren for the development of a 300-megawatt solar plant to supply the mine with power. Zimbabwe has an electricity generation deficit that often impacts mining operations.Some 1 000 jobs would be created at Karo during mine development, with a further 1 000 created when the mine is operational, Pryor said.-Fin24Grindrod Shipping agrees on takeover dealGuernsey-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."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.-Fin24Zim bans import of Tiger Brands productsZimbabwe banned the import of Tiger Brands baby-powder products, a month after the South African company recalled some of the items because they may have been tainted by asbestos."Given that a significant number of products in our supermarkets are sourced from South Africa, there is a possibility that some batches of the baby powder in question are in Zimbabwe," the Health Ministry said in a statement dated Oct. 7 sent by email on Tuesday."These products should be removed from the shelves or intercepted at points of entry."Tiger Brands said Sept. 7 it was withdrawing some of its baby-powder products after trace levels of asbestos were detected in samples of a raw material used in the manufacturing process.-Fin24Pepco sees strong salesSteinhoff’s European cut-price retailer Pepco has seen a sharp increase in revenue following a record expansion of stores.Pepco owns the discount brands PEPCO and Dealz in mainland Europe and Poundland in the UK. The company was listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange last year, but Steinhoff retains a 79% stake.In a trading update for the year to end September, the company said its revenue increased by more than 17% to €4.8 billion (on a constant currency basis). While Poundland only saw a 5% increase in sales, PEPCO revenue jumped almost 29%.A record number of 516 net new stores were opened, bringing its total to 3 961 stores. While PEPCO traditionally focused on Poland and Eastern Europe, 163 new stores were opened in the "strategically important" Western European markets of Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria.Pepco said demand for its products in mainland Europe remains strong despite economic uncertainty."The outlook across the UK remains challenging as constraints on consumers’ disposable income continue. That said, our value-led proposition becomes even more relevant in these challenging times and continues to drive new customers to our stores, expanding our target market, across Europe."-Fin24AfroCentric sees expansion after purchase by SanlamAfroCentric, a diversified South African healthcare provider, expects that an acquisition by Sanlam will accelerate its expansion into fast-growing yet still underinsured continent.Sanlam, Africa’s biggest insurer, intends to buy as much as 74.5% of the company, giving the owner of medical administrator Medscheme access to a distribution network that stretches across 33 African countries, as well as India and Malaysia.“That is something that we’d like to explore further with Sanlam, as well as further market penetration of health care to the continent,” AfroCentric’s Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Banderker said in a phone interview on Tuesday.The deal involves swapping 28.7% stake in ACT Healthcare Assets - which holds AfroCentric’s businesses including Pharmacy Direct and Activo Health - for an equal share in AfroCentric. Sanlam will then buy 44% of AfroCentric stock from the market.AfroCentric already has a presence in Namibia and Botswana and will remain listed in South Africa. Its 3.8 million members and the services it offers “at affordable price points” make the company an attractive addition to Sanlam, according to CEO Paul Hanratty.-Fin24

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