Lonrho Regulatory News (LONR)

26 Jan 2007 17:41

Lonrho Africa PLC26 January 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 26 JANUARY 2007 LONRHO AFRICA PLC ("Lonrho") Lonrho taps into the African water industry Lonrho is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts to acquire 100% ofStrenner Holding Limited ("Strenner"), a private company registered inSwitzerland, for a cash consideration of US$215,000. Strenner owns 50% of theissued share capital of Swissta Holding Limited ("Swissta"), which invests inwater-related businesses in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.David Lenigas will be appointed as Chairman of Strenner and Strenner'sco-founders, Michael Strehler and David Brunner, will continue to run thebusiness. Swissta Mozambique Lda, a subsidiary of Swissta, operates a water bottling plantwhich has been in production since April 2006 and has since captured some 30% ofMaputo's bottled water market. The plant currently produces, 0.5 litre, 1 litre,1.5 litre, 5 litre and 18.9 litre (5 gallon) bottles and sells some 200,000litres of water per month, the equivalent of 5 million half litre bottles ofwater a year. Swissta RDC SpRL, an associated company of Swissta, situated in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, has been in production since June 2006 and produces similaramounts of bottled water with the same product range. The bottling plants work to the highest international standards for bottledwater and water related products. Swissta has also recently launched sugar-freeflavoured water as a healthy alternative to soft drinks. In addition to this business acquisition, Lonrho, Michael Strehler and DavidBrunner have entered into a conditional shareholders' agreement. This agreementwill outline the business model going forward, developing water-bottling plantsand water related businesses throughout Africa. David Lenigas, Lonrho's Joint Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of Lonrho,commented: "This investment in Strenner fits in with Lonrho's strategy of investing ingrowth businesses that will make a difference to Africa and launches Lonrho'swater division. The provision of affordable and safe drinking water is a key step towardsimproving the health of any population. Our ultimate objective is to lower thedependency on expensive imported water which has negative economic as well asecological consequences." Michael Strehler commented: "We are delighted to have been able to attract investment from a company such asLonrho. Lonrho's involvement will accelerate plans to develop local plants inmajor centres throughout Africa. Our approach is to assist in improving localeconomies by providing training and skilled job opportunities while working withthe latest technologies in beverage processing." End For further information, please contact: Lonrho Africa Plc +44 (020) 7016 5105David Lenigas, Joint Chairman and Chief Executive +44 (0)7881 825 378Emma Priestley, Executive Director +44 (0)7867 785 177 Strand Partners Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494Simon RaggettMatthew Chandler Cardew Group +44 (0)20 7930 0777Nadja Vetter +44 (0)7941 340 436Eden Mendel +44 (0)7887 676 603Emma Consett +44 (0)7971 468 308 Notes to Editors Lonrho is in the process of re-establishing a significant presence on theAfrican continent. Its investment and acquisition strategy, which was adoptedfollowing the appointment of David Lenigas as Chief Executive and subsequentshareholder approval in February 2006, focuses on the naturalresources, infrastructure, leisure and agribusiness sectors. Lonrho's executiveteam has considerable experience across these industries in a wide range ofcountries. Since adopting its current strategy, Lonrho has announced investmentsin Brinkley Mining Plc, Nare Diamonds Ltd, Luba Freeport, Five Forty AviationLimited and Norse Air Limited. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange