Tanzanian multi-millionaire Said Salim Bakhresa is set to
spend $30 million in acquiring a controlling stake in Blue Ribbon Industries
(BRI), a flour milling company in Zimbabwe.
According to the Zimbabwe Mail, Bakhresa Group, one of
Tanzania’s largest conglomerates, has officially notified Zimbabwe’s
Competition and Tariff Commission that it plans to acquire a 100% shareholding
in the troubled miller.
In 2014, Bakhresa Group won the bid to acquire a controlling
shareholding in BRI after its core shareholders invited tenders for prospective
investors to either buy BRI, or inject capital to revive the operations of the
floundering company. BRI, which manufactures bread flour and stock feed, had
been battling cash flow problems and was struggling to repay loans it owed to a
consortium of Zimbabwean banks and trading partners.
Bakhresa Group was the preferred bidder. Bakhresa, which is
the largest milling company in Tanzania, with operations in other countries in
East Africa, indicated that it would provide equity capital of $30 million to
BRI and steer the company back to profitability.
But the deal has faced stiff opposition from competitors and
Zimbabwe’s Competition and Tariff Commission has dragged its feet in approving
the deal.
Said Salim Bakhresa, who is the founder of Bakhresa Group,
is the 3rd richest man in Tanzania with a fortune FORBES estimates at $600
million. His Bakhresa Group is involved in agribusiness, beverages, logistics,
media, oil trading, recycling and packaging.
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