Floor price for the 32,624 shares stands at 58.2 million Birr
About 32,624 shares of the East African Bottling Share Company (EABSC) that are under the ownership of the renowned businessman, Nigussie Hailu, are to be foreclosed.
In an announcement made this week, Federal Courts Judgment Execution Directorate announced that the shares will be foreclosed based on the ruling of the Federal High Court, which passed a verdict to foreclose Nigussie’s stake at the bottling company.
The court case, involving former Prime Minister Tamrat Layne, has been pending for decades. Nigussie is among businesspersons partnered with SABCO to acquire the then state-owned Ethiopian Bottling Share Company, present day EABSC, in 1995 from the former Ethiopian Privatization Agency, which has been rebranded as Public Enterprises Holding and Administration Agency since 2018.
Nigussie was convicted of corruption along with other founding shareholders of the bottling company, Shadia Nadim and Hussein Abedella, for misappropriating USD16 million borrowed from Mohammed Ali Al-Amoudi (Sheikh), illegally exporting 1,000tns of coffee and manipulating government procurement in a way that damages public interests.
The foreclosure aims at recovering government losses incurred by the actions of the convicts.
Nigussie has been the only local shareholder with stakes in EABSC since 2017. His shares have been frozen by the court and will be foreclosed at a floor price of 58.2 million Birr. This is based on computations that price a single share at 1,784 Birr.
The foreclosure will be opened on April 7, 2021. Bidders are expected to bring a certified payment order (CPO) which is worth one-fourth of the auctioned shares. The winning bidder is expected to deposit the payment 15 days after being awarded by the Judgment Execution Directorate.
One of the oldest companies in Ethiopia, EABSC is currently undertaking expansion projects in Ethiopia. The huge injection of capital into the share company is believed to have toned down the former worth of shares. Recently, 90 percent of its expansion project at Ambo has been completed, according to the management of the company.
