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Super Group sells Mica businesses

Super Group said yesterday, 3 November 2009, it had sold its Mica franchise business for R25m as the company accelerated its plan to dispose of noncore assets and to turn around the debt-laden group.

Separately, the company also announced board changes. The Mica deal yesterday came two months after Super Group announced it had offloaded its Mica Norwood, Mica Umhlanga and Mica South Coast stores to consumer goods distributor Massmart for R27m. Massmart owns stores such as Dion, Game, Makro and Builders Warehouse.

At the time, the company said other Mica stores were independently owned by franchise members and indicated it intended selling the Mica trademark to a group of interested franchisees.

Super Group is disposing of noncore assets in an attempt to restructure the group, which is seeking to raise about R2bn through a rights issue. This aims to recapitalise the company and ease its liquidity constraints.

On Tuesday, Super Group said it had signed an agreement with Burgundy Rose Trading 64, a Mica-led member consortium, to dispose of the Mica franchise business. It said this deal involved the intellectual property, Power Plus Performance's (PPP's) rights, title and interest under the agreements between PPP and Mica members, and the goodwill.

The transport and logistics group said Mica was a franchise parent to 160 stores. Mica owned and managed the brand and performed buying and clearing functions for member stores and also offered them marketing, operating and financial services.

Under the agreement, Burgundy Rose Trading 64 would acquire the Mica franchise business for R25m in cash and would assume responsibility for settling all the sale's liabilities.

Super Group said on Monday it had shaken up its board with two nonexecutive directors, Peter Malungani and Busi Tshili, stepping down and nonexecutive director Sam Abrahams retiring.

It said it had appointed two new nonexecutive directors in Neil Davies and John Newbury and was considering appointing a new chairman.

Source: Business Day

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