Construction and mining firm, Basil Read is on track for a solid turnaround, after successfully concluding a rights offer on Friday 23 February 2018.

According to CEO Khathutshelo Mapasa the full R300 million required for repayment of the bridge loan and working capital was raised.

Mapasa adds that he is confident the steps planned to encourage a turnaround – for which the rights offer was key – will work.

The shares, offered at a discounted price of 22 cents a share, were supported by the company’s major shareholders, says Mapasa.

Shareholders led by Allan Gray, PSG Asset Management, Prudential Investment Managers, Sishen Iron Ore Community (SIOC) Trust  and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) undertook to follow their rights.

“With this new cash injection, Basil Read is on a firm path towards recovery,” Mapasa says. “We are cognisant of, and grateful for, the shareholders’ faith in us. There’s hard work ahead, but we’re ready,” he concludes.