At a Glance
- Braemar holds 30.8% stake, pushes for control in Quantum Foods via boardroom influence.
- Country Bird boosts Quantum stake to 15.8% after acquiring Astral’s shares in 2024.
- ROFR pact allows either party to acquire up to 47.54% Quantum Foods stake.
Braemar Trading Limited, the Zimbabwean agribusiness investment firm linked to the controversial businessman Simon Rudland’s family, and South Africa’s poultry giant Country Bird Holdings (CBH), have entered into a strategic pact that could reshape the shareholder landscape of JSE-listed Quantum Foods Holdings Ltd.—a key player in Southern Africa’s agri-food security.
The agreement, signed on July 15 and disclosed to the market on July 17 and 18, allows either party to acquire the other’s stake in the event of a sale, according to Shore Africa.
A full buyout under the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) terms would raise either firm’s stake to 47.54 percent—a near-controlling position just shy of the 50 percent threshold, potentially reshaping boardroom influence.
Strategic alignment between Braemar and CBH amid shareholder tensions
Braemar, which held 30.8 percent of Quantum as of March 2024, has been an active shareholder, backing repeated attempts to place Hamish Rudland—linked to Zimbabwean tobacco and logistics magnate Simon Rudland—on the board. While prior motions at the 2024 and 2025 AGMs were unsuccessful, Braemar continues to assert influence.
CBH, which has grown its stake from 6 percent in 2020 to 15.8 percent following its March 2024 acquisition of Astral Foods’ 9.77 percent holding, has emerged as a key counterweight. That deal spurred a sharp rally in Quantum’s stock price, driven by market speculation of an imminent control battle.
Despite heightened investor scrutiny, both parties deny acting in concert and have publicly ruled out a full takeover—though each reserves the right to revise that position.
Quantum Foods at the crossroads of food security and investment
Quantum Foods with a market valuation of R1.81 billion ($102.86 million), operates across South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Mozambique, offering a fully integrated value chain from feed production to egg supply.
Its fully integrated model—from animal feed to broiler production and egg supply—makes it a pivotal player in both formal retail and informal food markets across sub-Saharan Africa. As demand for protein and essential staples grows, the company sits at the intersection of food security and economic resilience.
With Braemar and CBH now linked by a strategic exit clause, and Aristotle Africa S.à.r.l. still holding the largest single stake at 34.2 percent, the race to influence Quantum’s future is far from over.
Whether the ROFR deal signals consolidation or prefaces another round of shareholder turbulence, it underscores the strategic importance of Quantum Foods—and why control over its direction remains one of the most tightly watched stories in South African agribusiness.
Rudland family’s growing influence
Simon Rudland, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur with holdings in logistics, agriculture, and tobacco, co-founded Pioneer Transport and Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation (GLTC).
Through vehicles such as Day River Corporation and Magister, the Rudlands have expanded across regional stock exchanges, pursuing assets from CFI Holdings in Zimbabwe to Tongaat Hulett in South Africa.
Though often surrounded by legal and market controversy, the family’s empire now spans multiple African markets and sectors, from tobacco to agribusiness—marking their growing relevance in shaping Southern Africa’s corporate landscape.
