Cresta┬á Marakanelo┬á Limited,┬á the hotel and tourism┬á group, set the city in a jubilant mood Monday┬á as market players┬á said the┬á entity was on its way to raise┬á P 91. 2 million┬á through its Initial Public Offer (IPO) that will see the Botswana Development Corporation’s (BDC’s )ÔÇöthat will see it giving away 34 percent stake as part of the citizen┬á economic empowerment initiative.
“The response is very good and looks like we are going to work until very late,” Saumendu Sinha, PriceWater House representative overseeing the share transfer, said Monday night.
The jubilant mood was shared by stockbrokers who said that it appears that the company was set to meet the targets given the number of applications that they handled.
By Monday 17: 00 hrs, stock brokers were still forwarding IPO applications to PricewaterHouse but the last butches of applications from the commercial banks were expected Tuesday.
Cresta Marakanelo pushed back closing dates for its IPO a fortnight ago in a bid to enjoy the limelight created by the excitement built over its  citizen  economic  empowerment initiative.
The┬á company is planning to list┬á 62.9 million shares at P 1.45 thebe a piece ÔÇô being┬á stake held by BDC ÔÇô to try to support the citizen empowerment initiatives.
“There has been an overwhelming demand of Prospectus from the Public, in particular individual applicants. As a result (in consultation with the BSE) the dates of the closing of the Public Offer and the subsequent listing of Cresta have been extended…,” the┬á company said.
“The┬á closing date has been pushed back to June 14 with the actual listing┬á now fixed for June 28. And the company has enlisted the services of Barclays branches┬á to deal with the┬á rising demands for its prospectus,” the company said then.
The┬á listing move┬á is expected to leave BDC with 26 percent shares in the company while TA Botswana ÔÇö the┬á strategic partner ÔÇö at┬á 40 percent, leaving the rest in the hands of┬á other shareholders participating through the Botswana Stock Exchange.
The new development will see, in total, 62.9 million shares on offer through the BSE. And out of that, 18.5 million shares will go to the market through private placement; 40.7 million  shares will be sold through public offer while the remaining 3.7 million shares or two percent of the company  will be bought by the company on behalf of its  employees.
The move is part of the BDC’s strategic plan, which, among other things, would like to see┬áthe giant government’s investment arm reducing its involvement┬á in projects that are established, such as┬á Cresta Marakanelo and its property wing, as it┬á is planning to drive them to the BSE to ensure that┬á as many Batswana take stake either through insurance, pension funds or they do directly invest.
Cresta Marakanelo was  founded in 1974, then known as BDC Hotel Management; it  is currently one of the leading hotel brands in the country and operates eight hotels.
The hotels are: Cresta Lodge, President Hotel, Botsalo Hotel, Bosele Hotel, Marang Gardens and Hotel, President Hotel, Riley’s Hotel , and Cresta Mowana Safari Lodge.
In total, the company has 724 beds in Botswana. “Over the last eleven years, the company has expanded and is now recognized as a leading brand in Botswana. Last year, Cresta underwent a re-branding exercise, whereby hotels within the portfolio are categorized into four separate gateways, which are defined by the products offering of each Cresta hotel,” the company said.
Cresta Marakanelo will be the third tourism outfit to list on BSE following Chobe Holdings and Wilderness Safaris. Wilderness Safaris has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.
