Swala shelves Mauritius bond listing procedures

Dar es Salaam. Swala Oil and Gas Tanzania PLC has stopped its bond listing process on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) after receiving interest from private investors who may give the firm money it wanted.

Earlier this year, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE)-listed firm announced to raise $50 million through bond to acquire an additional 32.07 per cent equity of PanAfrican Energy Corporation but now says it can get the money through “unlisted notes.”

The bond was supposed to be listed on the SEM and the company was already received approvals from the bourse.

However, Swala said in a statement that the private investors have committed the amount it required to close the proposed acquisition, hence completing the transaction between the company and Orca.

“The board of directors of Swala now wishes to inform the general public that it will be focusing its attention on these potential private investors. Consequently, Swala will not proceed with the private placement and listing of the senior notes on the Stock of Exchange of Mauritius,” it stated.

After announcing the $50 million bond, the overseas investors committed to offer the whole amount through unlisted notes and Swala said would offer $20 million dollars to accommodate East African Community (EAC) investors.

This bond would be listed on the SEM.

The EAC investors’ subscription period ended on Friday October 19, 2018 and nobody had committed anything.

“The interest by overseas investors is good news for Tanzanian projects, and we’d have liked that to be matched by the Tanzanian participation that we have spent a year progressing, said Swala CEO Dr David Ridge.