Shareholders of hotelier – Cresta Marakanelo Limited will have to wait until atleast the first week of March 2021 to ‘declare’ themselves as part owners of the luxurious Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel & Convention Centre.
This comes after a delay by the country’s Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) to issue a go ahead on a proposed deal in which the BSE quoted hospitality group seeks to lease the Phakalane Hotel and Convention Centre from Nectar Holdings Proprietary Limited and Real Time Services Proprietary Limited – the current owners of the resort. The deal, first announced in December 2020, also entails the acquisition of certain assets by Cresta from the two companies.
While in December 2020 Cresta had indicated that the transaction could pass by February 2021, the new date has now been shifted to the first week of March.
The Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) has also on the other hand issued a notification calling on stakeholder views for or against the proposed merger.
According to section 50(3), of the Competition Act 2018, “any person, including a third party not a party to the proposed merger, may voluntarily submit to the inspector or the Authority any document, affidavit, statement or other relevant information in respect of a proposed merger.
If the merger is approved, this will see Cresta extending its footprint in Botswana by adding the 4 star Gaborone property to its existing portfolio.
Cresta says like the rest of the tourism and hospitality industry and the entire value chain in Botswana, it was hard hit by the national lockdowns with the surge of COVID-19. By investing during the low period, the company says it hopes to realise the future value of spending time in preparing for the new consumer dynamics and behaviour.
“Despite the headwinds faced in 2020, Management has continued to focus on projects that enhance CML’s product offering such as the refurbishments at Cresta Mowana Safari Resort & Spa in the tourism capital Kasane and the ongoing refurbishment of Cresta Marang Residency in Francistown. The signing of the lease for the 4 star Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel & Conference Centre is a great addition to the Cresta portfolio and will unlock shareholder value in the future”, says Mokwena Morulane – Cresta managing Director.
