Gaborone’s corporate battlefield was ablaze this week, as PrimeTime Property Holdings’ Independent Board, under the steely gaze of Chair Paul Masie, fired back at RDC Properties’ unsolicited takeover bid. In a hard-hitting Response Circular, PrimeTime branded RDC’s offer to snap up all linked units as a “dilutive and value-destructive” ploy, urging unitholders to slam the door shut.
“This offer is not in the best interests of PrimeTime unitholders. It is materially dilutive, offers no operational benefit, and detracts from our strategic focus on long-term value creation. We urge our unitholders to act in their own best interests by rejecting the offer.” Masie thundered.
The numbers don’t lie: RDC’s portfolio, puffed up by a P1.05 billion overvaluation according to Knight Frank and KATAFRICA, spells trouble. PrimeTime unitholders face a 42 percent Net Asset Value hit and a 35 percent distribution cut. Worse, RDC’s looming debt maturities and pricier refinancing expose its desperation, not strength.
PrimeTime, with its P1.9 billion empire of 30 properties across Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa, boasts blue-chip tenants—multinationals, banks, and government bodies—securing robust cash flows. RDC’s offer? No synergies, just higher fees to its manager, PAM, and governance red flags. With 38 percent of unitholders already vowing to reject the bid, PrimeTime’s game plan is bold: slash debt (down from 59 percent to 47 percent LTV), sell assets strategically, and eye a wind-down that could yield P3.59 per unit—double RDC’s offer.
