What is Strive Masiyiwa up to?

The furore over the $130 million Econet Wireless Zimbabwe rights offer is over.

Shareholders approved the contentious rights issue on 3 February by 74 percent with only 16.5 percent against the offer.

Econet has once again won the day.

The controversy surrounding the rights offer now seems to have been forgotten.

The rights offer opens tomorrow and closes on 10 March.

What was not mentioned was the shareholding of Econet.

The top six shareholders, excluding Old Mutual hold 73.66 percent and these are: Econet Wireless Global (30.02 percent), Stanbic Nominees (18.58 percent), Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (9.86 percent), Stanbic Nominees (6.76 percent) Austin Eco Holdings (5.48) and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe SPV (2.96 percent).

Econet watchers were probably not surprised that the offer sailed through.

Econet founder and Zimbabwe’s richest man, Strive Masiyiwa seems to have an uncanny way of dealing with the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and minority shareholders.

When he wants something done, it gets done.

One of the major issues of contention in the rights offer was the stipulation that those who wanted to participate should pay for the shares in foreign currency to Afreximbank.

Shareholders argued that this would exclude most Zimbabwean shareholders because they did not have access to foreign currency.

Besides, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange had asked that the extra-ordinary annual general meeting scheduled for 3 February be postponed because there were some technical issues that needed to be clarified.

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