TSL Limited has sealed a US$25 million deal to acquire a controlling 51.43% stake in Nampak Zimbabwe, the country’s largest packaging manufacturer.
The transaction gives TSL a strong foothold in a company that supplies packaging to some of Zimbabwe’s biggest food and beverage players.
Nampak produces a wide range of packaging, including PET bottles, bottle tops, crates, paper, drums, cans, and containers such as those used for Delta Corporation’s Chibuku Super brand.
Delta itself holds a 22% shareholding in the business, which was co-founded with South Africa’s Nampak in 1993.
The deal values Nampak Zimbabwe at nearly US$49 million. Following this acquisition, TSL is expected to make an offer to buy out minority shareholders. Interestingly, the transaction comes six years after TSL sold its previous stake in Nampak for US$15 million, only to return at a higher price to take control.
For Nampak South Africa, the disposal is part of a broader asset sale programme designed to raise R2.6 billion and reduce debt.
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The company has already exited Nigeria, where it sold its operations for US$68.5 million earlier this year, and is in the process of selling its businesses in Angola, Zambia, Malawi, and part of its South African operations.
Despite previously insisting it was in “no hurry” to leave Zimbabwe, currency instability and a US$52 million debt owed by the Zimbabwean government may have tilted the balance.
Last year, the Zimbabwean unit posted a profit of R84.8 million and paid out a modest dividend.
For TSL, the acquisition consolidates its position in Zimbabwe’s packaging market. The company already owns Propack, a tobacco packaging business, alongside a diverse portfolio that includes Tobacco Sales Floor, Bak Logistics, Agricura, Avis, TSL Properties, Sasana Tours, and Premier Forklift.
The move signals TSL’s confidence in Zimbabwe’s consumer and manufacturing sectors, even as foreign players such as Nampak SA retreat due to economic risks.
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