Walmart to buy out Massmart shareholders, delist owner of Makro, Game

• In a R6.4 billion deal, Walmart is offering to buy out minority shareholders of Massmart.
• The US retail giant says the company's turnaround plan will lead to more losses in the short term.
• Mitch Slape will step down as CEO at the end of the year.
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US retail giant Walmart plans to buy out shareholders in Massmart and delist the company, which owns Makro, Game and Builders Warehouse, from the JSE. Massmart shareholders will be offered R62 in cash. This is 53% higher than Massmart's closing share price on Friday. Walmart bought control of Massmart in 2010, which proved to be a disastrous deal. The value of its investment has slumped by 80% since then, as the retailer struggled in a weak economy with increased competition. In its half-year results, released on Monday morning, the company reported a large headline loss of more than R903 million, from a loss of R359 million in the same period last year. Sales grew almost 2% to R38.1 billion. The US giant said that it has had to provide "increasing levels of support" to Massmart, including R4 billion in liquidity during the 2020 lockdown, over recent years. Walmart converted half of the R4 billion loan into equity. Apart from Covid-19, the civil unrest in 2021 and flooding in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year have compounded "weak consumer demand for general merchandise and an increasingly competitive operating environment", Walmart said. As part of its turnaround plan, the company plans to sell or close more of its non-core assets. While this will be crucial to the long-term strategy of Massmart, it will worsen losses in the short term and will require additional capital investment into the business, Walmart said. The development of its e-commerce strategy will also require significant additional financial investment, the company said. "The potential offer will enable Walmart to continue its overweight support as a long-term shareholder and allow eligible Massmart shareholders the opportunity to realise value now." “With an expected inflow of foreign direct investment estimated at R6.4 billion, this potential offer, if finalised, represents a positive vote of confidence in South Africa by the world’s leading retailer,” Walmart said. Massmart has established an independent board to review the terms of the offer. The independent board is advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Both PwC and the independent board have already considered the offer and conditions as "fair and reasonable", and will recommend the offer to the board. In addition, shareholders representing almost 25% of Massmart shares have been canvassed and support the offer. Massmart CEO Mitch Slape will step down from his role at the end of the year, with Jonathan Molapo becoming the new head of the company. Molapo was previously CEO of Astron Energy before joining Massmart last year.

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IMAX Bans Russian Film Screenings, Chain Owner Says

IMAX has banned Russian cinemas from screening Russian movies within Russia after leaving the country over its invasion of Ukraine, the head of a major cinema chain said Tuesday. IMAX Corporation, a Canadian company that provides proprietary high-resolution technology for a large-format movie experience, has left Russia on June 1 after 19 years on the market, according to the RBC news website. It is among hundreds of foreign businesses to exit Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Alexei Vasyanin, head of Russia’s largest network Cinema Park and Formula Kino, told RBC that all IMAX employees had been fired and top executives had left Russia for London.  He noted that Russian cinemas require explicit permission from IMAX to screen movies in a high-resolution format despite the technical capabilities to do so without permission. “Unfortunately we can’t even screen Russian films in that format right now… because there’s a direct ban by the company on using the format,” Vasyanin said. Vasyanin warned that Russian chains could sue IMAX if does not return to the market with 54 cinemas around Russia that use its technology by the end of 2022. “First of all, we’ll file lawsuits. Secondly, we’ll use this equipment to screen movies in a different format,” the executive told RBC. “We have a very strict contract with them that regulates their work here. If they keep ignoring that contract by the end of the year, we’ll go to trial,” Vasyanin said. 

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/imax-bans-russian-film-screenings-chain-owner-says/?feed_id=14579&_unique_id=63047a505a21b

A Rajasthan Royals owner 'slapped' me

Former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor claims he was "slapped" by one of the owners of the Rajasthan Royals franchise during the 2011 season of the IPL.

Taylor made the revelation in his new autobiography, Ross Taylor: Black & White, and says the incident took place following a defeat against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali.

"The chase was 195, I was lbw for a duck and we didn't get close," Taylor wrote in his book, an excerpt of which was published on Stuff.co.nz. "Afterwards, the team, support staff and management were in the bar on the top floor of the hotel. Liz Hurley was there with Warnie [Shane Warne]. One of the Royals owners said to me, 'Ross, we didn't pay you a million dollars to get a duck,' and slapped me across the face three or four times. He was laughing and they weren't hard slaps but I'm not sure that it was entirely play-acting. Under the circumstances I wasn't going to make an issue of it, but I couldn't imagine it happening in many professional sporting environments."

Royals have not issued a statement in response yet.

Having spent three years at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2008 to 2010, Taylor played one season for Royals - in 2011 - after he was bought for USD 1 million at the auction. In his book, Taylor said he wished he had stayed at RCB.

"While it was amazing to go for a million dollars, in the long run I would've been better off if RCB had got me for US$950,000," Taylor wrote. "If they had, it would have been my fourth year with them. While the IPL is pretty unsentimental, there is loyalty towards long-serving players and I probably would have had a longer IPL career as a one-franchise player. On the other hand, if I'd stayed at RCB, I wouldn't have played with greats such as Virender Sehwag, Shane Warne, Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh.

"When you fetch that sort of money, you're desperately keen to prove that you're worth it. And those who are paying you that sort of money have high expectations - that's professional sport and human nature. I'd paid my dues at RCB: if I'd had a lean trot, the management would have had faith in me because of what I'd done in the past. When you go to a new team, you don't get that backing. You never feel comfortable because you know that if you go two or three games without a score, you come under cold-eyed scrutiny."

Taylor played 12 games for Royals in 2011, scoring 181 runs at a strike rate of 119, after which he played three more seasons for Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors India.

In his book, Taylor had also revealed that he had experienced racial insensitivity while playing cricket in and for New Zealand.

Who are Royals' owners?
The Royals franchise - which won the inaugural IPL - was bought in 2008 by Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt Ltd, a consortium of business entities. The major investors in this consortium comprised: Tresco International Ltd (Suresh Chellaram family, 44.2% stake), Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd (owned by Manoj Badale, 32.4%), Blue Water Estate Ltd (Lachlan Murdoch, 11.7%). A year later, in 2009, the Royals became the first franchise to broaden its ownership by selling an 11.7% stake to Kuki Investments Ltd, led by Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty. The deal, at the time, was reportedly for US$15.4 million approx.

In 2015, Kundra was banned for life from cricketing activities by the Supreme Court-appointed RM Lodha Committee, after investigations into the the 2013 IPL corruption scandal revealed he was involved in illegal betting. The Lodha Committee also suspended Royals for two years.

In 2021, Badale became the lead owner of the Royals franchise by upping his stake to 65% after an injection of funds from global investors. Also, last June, RedBird Capital Partners, a global private investment firm that has interests in the parent company of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, bought a 15% stake in Royals.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/a-rajasthan-royals-owner-slapped-me/?feed_id=10454&_unique_id=62f7e86b1ae15