PIONEER Corporation Africa (PCA), one of the country’s largest transport groups, will soon merge with Swift, businessdigest has established.
Market sources say PCA, which reverse listed Clan Transport in 2003, is ready to tie the corporate knot with Swift, another transport and logistics group.
This comes after PCA last week issued a cautionary statement warning shareholders the group was pursuing a transaction that would affect the company’s share price.
PCA said: “The directors of Pioneer Corporation Ltd wish to advise all shareholders that the company is currently engaged in discussions that may result in a transaction which might have a material impact on the value of the company’s shares. The directors therefore advise shareholders to exercise caution in dealing with their shares.”
According to the cautionary statement, Imara is the company’s financial advisor, while Corporate Finance and Lynton-Edwards are the sponsoring brokers.
Speculation on the market has been rife over the years linking Swift and PCA to a deal.
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But talk of the deal five years ago escalated when former PCA CEO Harvey Leared joined Swift. The market saw the move as lending credence to speculation the PCA and Swift would merge.
Efforts to reach Pioneer Corporation Africa proved fruitless at the time of going to print while Swift GM Paul Mackie promised to call back but had not returned the paper’s calls at the time of going to press. But well placed sources in the market told businessdigest talks to merge the two companies –– PCA and Swift –– were at an advanced stage.
Should the deal sail through, the new entity will be the largest transport group in the country.
Swift is owned by Unifreight Ltd, a company controlled by UK-headquartered Rentokil Initial.
Rentokil Initial is one of the largest business services companies in the world, operating in the major economies of Europe, North America, Asia, Pacific and Africa.
The company has over 68 000 employees providing a range of support services in over 50 countries where the “Rentokil” and “Initial” brands.
PCA is owned by the Rudland brothers — Simon and Hamish.
