At a Glance
- Nampak’s $25 million Zimbabwe unit sale collapses after TSL shareholders reject acquisition deal.
- The failed transaction underscores Zimbabwe’s volatile market and Nampak’s debt-reduction challenges.
- TSL investors resisted deploying scarce dollars amid currency turmoil, derailing Nampak’s turnaround plan.
Nampak Ltd., Africa’s biggest packaging group, said its planned $25 million sale of a majority stake in Nampak Zimbabwe to Harare-listed conglomerate TSL Ltd. has fallen through, despite clearing due diligence and competition authority approval.
According to its recent disclosure, Nampak, which is pursuing a multibillion-rand turnaround, said TSL failed to win shareholder backing. Both sides walked away, leaving Nampak back in the market for a buyer.
Deal Unravels in a Tough Market
The collapse highlights the difficulty of closing large transactions in Zimbabwe’s unpredictable business climate. Nampak has been under pressure to raise about R2.6 billion ($149.76 million) from asset disposals to cut debt and strengthen its balance sheet, with its Zimbabwe unit expected to play a key role.
For TSL, which operates in tobacco, logistics, agro-services and packaging, the acquisition would have secured control of Zimbabwe’s biggest packaging producer. But the deal required shareholder approval and a mandatory offer to minority investors, which lifted the overall cost.
Shareholders Push Back
TSL investors, cautious about deploying scarce U.S. dollars amid Zimbabwe’s currency turmoil, foreign-exchange shortages and rising costs, rejected the deal despite regulatory and due diligence clearances.
Nampak Zimbabwe, founded in the 1951, once reliably supplied cartons, bottles and metal containers to food and beverage makers. But in recent years, it has struggled with power outages, currency instability and higher expenses.
For Nampak, the sale would have reduced uncertainty around its Zimbabwe exposure. With the deal gone, it must now seek another buyer or restructure the business while still working toward disposal targets.
TSL deal collapse tests Nampak’s exit plan in Zimbabwe
TSL, founded in 1957 as Tobacco Sales Ltd., is a diversified group controlled by the Meikles family, with interests spanning retail, farming and hospitality.
Nampak remains a major player in African packaging but has scaled back, exiting Nigeria and Malawi under a debt-reduction plan backed by South African banks.
The failed sale underlines the difficulty of extracting value from Zimbabwe. Without improved confidence, Nampak may have to accept a lower price or flexible terms to close a deal.
For now, it says it is committed to a “commercially acceptable” exit — a test of both its turnaround plan and investor appetite for Zimbabwean assets.
