HARARE (FinX) — Shareholders of Edgars Stores Limited have voted overwhelmingly to approve the clothing retailer’s voluntary delisting from the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), paving the way for its majority shareholder, Annunaki Investments (Private) Limited, to execute a minority buyout.
At an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Thursday, the resolution to delist passed with 100% shareholder support, while the cash buyout offer of US$0.0248 per share by Annunaki secured 98.61% of the votes. A small minority—representing 1.39% of the vote—opposed the cash offer.
During the meeting, some minority investors voiced disappointment over the offer price, describing it as “so little,” though they commended the legacy retailer for its long track record of service to customers and investors.
All three tabled resolutions surpassed their required approval thresholds, including the special resolutions for delisting and the buyout (which required at least 75% approval) and a final ordinary resolution authorizing directors to implement the corporate actions.
Edgars board chairman Thembinkosi Sibanda reassured stakeholders that going private would not disrupt the company’s day-to-day operations. Edgars will continue trading under its flagship brand, maintaining its nationwide branch network and workforce. “What happens is its shares cease to be traded. But otherwise it will continue as Edgars employing people,” Sibanda said.
Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Sibanda cited the mounting administrative and compliance costs of staying on the foreign-currency bourse relative to the company’s operational scale.“It was becoming more expensive to remain listed on the VFEX for the size of company and operation that we were running. It didn’t make sense,” he noted.
While the transition shields Edgars from public market compliance overheads, it closes the door on using the exchange to raise public equity. Sibanda pointed out that future capital-raising or share disposals will now occur outside the bourse.“We can no longer raise capital through the stock exchange. If we wanted to sell our shares, we would have to approach the financial institutions to say we want to sell some of our shares to raise capital,” he said.
The approval marks the conclusion of Edgars’ public market chapter on the VFEX, transitioning the country’s prominent clothing retailer into an unlisted entity focused on navigating an increasingly competitive retail landscape.
