(Adds Aliko Dangote remaining as chairman)
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 25 (Reuters) – South African consumer
goods firm Tiger Brands said Nigerian authorities had
cleared its 1.5 billion rand ($181.98 million) purchase of a
majority stake in Nigeria’s Dangote Flour Mills.
The deal is Tiger Brands’ third and its biggest yet in
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and second-largest
economy which is seen as a growth area for consumer and food
products.
“Tiger Brands believes, particularly for consumer goods,
that the potential of the Nigerian market is significant,” the
company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Tiger Brands will acquire just over 63 percent of Dangote
Flour, a flour and pasta maker owned by billionaire
industrialist Aliko Dangote.
His holding firm Dangote Industries Limited will retain a 10
percent stake in the flour miller after the purchase and keep
Aliko Dangote as chairman.
The company is the second largest flour milling company in
Nigeria with a market share of about 30 percent. It also has
about 40 percent of the country’s pasta market.
Tiger Brands has been ramping up its expansion in
fast-growing African markets and last year increased its
footprint outside its home base with acquisitions in Nigeria and
Ethiopia.
Dangote Flour shares rose 4.95 percent to 8.48 naira at 1130
GMT, valuing the company at $256 million, and Tiger Brands
shares were up 0.5 percent to 270.90 rand.
($1 = 8.24 South African rand)
($1 = 157.80 Nigerian nairas)
(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Additional reporting by Oludare
Mayowa in Lagos; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
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