Business
First Day of Dealings on AIM and Placing
First Day of Dealings on AIM and Placing.
About this update from Zambeef Products Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 9466I Zambeef Products PLC 23 June 2011 \n \n\nNOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN.\n 23 June 2011\nZambeef Products plc\n(\"Zambeef\" or the \"Group\" or the \"Company\")\n \nFirst Day of Dealings on AIM and Placing\nZambeef, the fully integrated African agri-business with operations in Zambia, Nigeria and Ghana, is pleased to announce its admission to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (\"AIM\") (\"Admission\") and the commencement of dealings in its ordinary shares under the TIDM Code ZAM.L.\nThe Group has raised US$54.97 million (approximately £33.95 million) in aggregate by way of both a rights issue of 35,558,580 new ordinary shares to existing investors via the Lusaka Stock Exchange (\"LuSE\") (the \"Rights Issue\"), and a placing of 53,713,570 new ordinary shares to institutional investors via AIM (the \"Placing\") at 38.06p, in aggregate representing 21.66 per cent. of the enlarged ordinary share capital of the Group. The approximate market capitalisation of the Group following Admission is £94.38 million.\nStrand Hanson Limited is acting as financial and nominated adviser in relation to the Admission, and Renaissance Capital Limited is acting as the bookrunner and sole broker.\nOverview\nZambeef is one of the largest agri-businesses in Zambia.\n \nThe Group is principally involved in the production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, edible oils, stock feed, flour and bread. The Group also has large row cropping operations (principally maize, soya beans and wheat), with approximately 5,000 Hectares (\"Ha\") of row crops under irrigation and 1,500 Ha of rain-fed/dry-land crops available for planting each year. The Group is also in the process of rolling out its West Africa expansion in Nigeria and Ghana, in addition to a palm plantation project within Zambia.\n \nThe Company was incorporated in June 1994, and listed on the LuSE in February 2003. Since its incorporation as a small scale start-up business, the Company has, through organic growth and acquisitions, become one of Zambia's largest agri-businesses with annual revenues of ZMK770.5 billion (approximately US$162 million) for the financial year ended 30 September 2010.\n \nZa...