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South African financial group Sanlam offered on 5 October to buy the 37.3% of short-term insurer Santam that it does not already own and to delist the company. The cash offer of 505 rand a share is a 26.6% premium to Santam's closing price on 2 October and values the minority stake at about 16 billion rand, according to BusinessDay. Santam's independent board backs the deal, which would end its 62-year listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Minority shareholders get an exit above Santam's previous record share price, while the JSE loses one of its larger financial stocks. Shareholders are due to vote on 30 November.
Kenya's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approved on 5 October global depositary receipts that let Kenyan investors buy into the initial public offering (IPO) of Nigeria's Dangote refinery. The offer of 4.1 billion shares at 525 naira each, worth about $1.6 billion, closes on 13 October; adviser Renaissance Capital says Kenyans could invest up to $300 million. The approval follows a delay on 1 October over pending issues, and a listing of the receipts in Nairobi still needs consent from Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal draws East African savings into Africa's largest refinery as Dangote starts building a second one at Lamu in Kenya, but competes for capital with Nairobi's own listings.