Grand Palm to have new owners
Brian Benza | Friday October 27, 2017 13:06
Peermont Global owns 60% in Peermont Botswana, which in turn runs the Grand Palm Hotel and Casino, Mondior, Metcourt and the casino at Sedibeng hotel in Francistown.
In a deal that is currently being examined by the competition authorities in Botswana and South Africa, a US company, Golden Tree Asset Management LP together with South Africa’s MIC Leisure have proposed to jointly acquire Peermont Global.
If the deal gets regulatory approval, it will see Peermont’s 60% stake in the Botswana hotels and casinos being taken over by the two buyers with Botswana Development Corporation retaining the remaining 40% in the business.
The target enterprise, Peermont which is incorporated in South Africa, also operates a number of casinos and hotels in South Africa.
One of the acquiring enterprises, Golden Tree is a US private investment management company specialising in credit opportunities across high yields bonds, leveraged loans, distressed debt, structured products, emerging markets and credit-themed equities. Golden Tree currently holds a 49.9% non-controlling stake in Peermont Global through various affiliated funds.
MIC Leisure, on the other hand, is a company incorporated under the laws of South Africa and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mineworkers Investment Company. MIC Leisure forms part of the wider MIC group of companies, which invest in cash generative and growth assets in order to fund social upliftment programmes for energy and construction workers, and their dependents.
MIC Leisure currently holds a 15.4% non-controlling stake in Peermont Global. Both Golden Tree and MIC Leisure have no other business interests directly or indirectly in Botswana besides eermont. The fresh acquisition attempt follows a failed bid by Sun International to buy Peermont’s nine properties in South Africa and five in Botswana two years ago. Although no financial details of the latest bid have emerged, Sun International had tabled an R9.43 billion (P7.73 billion) offer in 2015.
Sun’s bid however hit a snag after the proposed deal was blocked by the South Africa Competition Commission.