Tiger Brands, which is recovering from a food contamination crisis, said on Thursday it will spin off its 42.1% stake in Oceana Group worth $330-million to focus on growing its core food and drinks business.
"The decision was taken following a review of Oceana's fit with the group's core business undertakings. The approximate implementation date of the unbundling is April 2019," it said in a statement.
About 57-million shares will be handed back to shareholders, Tiger Brands' Chief Executive Lawrence MacDougall told reporters on a conference call. Based on Oceana's current share price of R81.41, the stake is worth R4.6-billion ($330.21-million)
"The strategic review was looking at our participation across all of our categories and the shares of businesses that we had previously identified as associates," he said.
"It's about being more focused on our core portfolio and giving as much attention as possible to growing our core brands."
The detailed terms of the disposal of the stake are expected to be announced shortly before the implementation date, Tiger Brands said.
Oceana Group, which has R7.7-billion ($553.46-million) worth of sales according to MacDougall, describes itself on its website as the largest fishing company in Africa.
It supplies fish and fish products to consumers across Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, Australia and the Far East.