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- Mary Oppenheimer and Daughters, a company linked to the family of the late mining baron Harry Oppenheimer, has criticized a rival bid for some of the assets of the horse racing and betting company Phumelela Gaming & Leisure.
- The company says the September 1 deadline imposed by British sportsbook Betfred on Phumelela to accept its offer is “unrealistic.”
- Phumelela applied for the business bailout in May in the wake of the horse racing ban at the beginning of the national shutdown.
The battle over the assets of horse racing and betting company Phumelela Gaming & Leisure has escalated, with Mary Oppenheimer and Daughters (Pty) Ltd on Friday criticizing a proposal by British bookmaker Betfred to take over the business.
Phumela filed for the business bailout in May.
In a letter to Phumelela insolvency practitioners, Mary Oppenheimer and Daughters (MOD), who is linked to the family of the late mining baron Harry Oppenheimer, submitted a case for their bid for some of Phumelela’s assets.
This follows a “binding offer” of between R875 million and R925 million for the entire Phumelela business offered by Betfred last week. The UK bookmaker has given the company until September 1 to accept the offer, something that MOD called “naive” and “commercially unrealistic.”
MOD further argues that Betfred conveniently “mimicked” its structure, which includes a loan facility to ensure prompt payment to creditors and a separate “purchase phase” of assets.
Mary Oppenheimer and Daughters recently pledged to extend another 550 million rand to save the company, following the 100 million rand in post-start financing that it granted to Phumelela shortly after its business rescue. The letter said that “MOD has also demonstrated its commitment by financing Phumelela” and, indeed, has come to the aid of all creditors, although it only seeks to acquire the assets of the races.
“Betfred’s proposal is intended to be a ‘binding offer’, but it is not. This is, in effect, an agreement to be agreed, with final terms still to be negotiated,” the letter reads, noting the long history and the support Mary Slack and Jessica Jell have contributed to the South African racing industry.
“MOD has already signed final post-start financing and the sale of one or more of Phumelela’s assets and other potential short-term cash proceeds will ensure delivery of at least R400 million to creditors by November 2020.” states the four-page document. lyrics.
Phumelela’s creditors are expected to vote on the group’s business bailout plan at a meeting scheduled for September 1, the same date the group has been given to accept or reject Betfred’s offer.
MOD said that while it accepts that it cannot impose a position on creditors, “it reserves the right to withdraw from the process and not provide further funds to Phumelela.”
