Guma bids for Tourvest
By Doug Newhouse, 30 April 2008

A consortium is reported to have made a R.2bn ($264.9m) bid to acquire a majority stake in Tourism Investment Corporation (Tourvest) after Imperial Holdings sold its 66% shareholding in South Africa's largest tourism company.

Tourvest's retail merchandising division is best known to the travel retail business for its inflight duty free retailing onboard six airlines, which include SAA, Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Airways.

Tourvest has advised its shareholders and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that it has received the approach from a consortium which includes Union Square Properties 100 (Proprietary) Limited, trading as Guma Tourism Holdings; Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Ltd; and certain members of the management of Tourvest. If the bid is successful, then the consortium would control 51% of Tourvest.

This latest bid follows interest from other consortia in acquiring Tourvest, although none have matched the price that the Guma Tourism-led group has offered.

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