Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI), the largest shareholder in hotel and casino operator Tsogo Sun Holdings, was not seeking to buy SABMiller’s R13 billion stake in the company, HCI said yesterday. Buying the shares would be “a very, very big decision for us and it is certainly not something we could fund out of the current borrowing capacity of the company”, HCI chief executive Johnny Copelyn said. “It is absolutely not a consideration [on] our side.” The brewer said in April that it was considering options for its 39.6 percent stake in Tsogo because the investment was not core to the beverage operations. There was no certainty any action would come from the strategic review, SABMiller said. Tsogo Sun has more than 90 luxury hotels in seven African countries. HCI, which has a 41.5 percent stake in Tsogo Sun, intended to remain the largest shareholder, Copelyn said. It had been “happy in partnership with SABMiller” and would prefer it if the brewer kept its Tsogo Sun holding. HCI’s other investments include controlling stakes in bus service Golden Arrow and broadcaster e.tv. Tsogo Sun closed 1.59 percent higher at R28.70 yesterday, taking its gains to 12 percent since SABMiller said it was reviewing its stake. HCI dipped 71c to R163.30 yesterday.

Source: iol.co.za – Bloomberg