Halcyon Agri increases its stake in Tropical Rubber Ivory Coast to 70%
Singapore’s Halcyon Agri announced that it had increased its stake in the equity capital of Tropical Rubber Côte d’Ivoire (TRCI) by 18.8%, bringing its shareholding from 51.2% to 70%. The repurchase of the 37,597 shares was carried out last December 4, the registration of the operation having been completed on February 15th.
The transaction amounted to $ 5.1 million, well above the value estimated last September of $ 3.3 million, according to an unaudited estimate.
Responding to a desire for financial rationalization, it is SDCI Singapore, a subsidiary owned indirectly 100% by Halcyon Agri, and no longer Cameroon Holdings which holds all of the 70% stake.
Recall that TRCI was created in June 1995 to operate the Aguédédou Agro-Industrial Complex acquired on the occasion of the privatization of the State Rubber Estate (DHE). Singaporean investment group GMG Investment (created in 1994) bought 51.2%, the state retained 20%, the African Society for Rubber Promotion and Industrialization of Rubber (Saphic) 20% and Joseph-Desiré Biley, the current CEO of TRCI and also president of the National Federation of Industries and Services of Côte d’Ivoire (FNISCI), 8.8%.
In 2007, the Chinese Sinochem bought the shares of GMC Investment and became majority shareholder. In 2013, the liquidation process of Saphic was triggered, while the privatization of the TRCI was decided in the Council of Ministers on December 2, 2013. However, the privatization process was suspended due to disputes between families of planters , GMG and Saphic.
In 2016, following the acquisition by Sinochem of 54.99% of Halcyon Agri, creating the world’s No. 1 rubber, Halcyon took over the 51.2% of Sinochem in TRCI.
With 28,500 tons in 2015 and a turnover of nearly FCFA 26.4 billion, the TRCI employs more than 1,500 people for a cultivated area of 1,415 hectares, and supervises nearly 20,000 farmers. Source: Commodafrica