Ibex Investment Holdings, previously known as Steinhoff International, has sold its entire 28% stake in South African clothing retailer Pepkor Holdings.
The transaction involves the offering of 1.05 billion Pepkor shares, valued at R26.6bn ($1.5bn), as reported by Bloomberg.
Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Investec oversaw the management of the share sale.
Ibex is proceeding with the restructuring of Steinhoff by selling off parts of the company following its collapse due to an accounting scandal in 2017.
An investigation by Pricewaterhouse Coopers revealed irregular transactions amounting to €6.5bn ($7.6bn) involving eight companies over a period of eight years.
Steinhoff was the former owner of France’s Conforama and Mattress Firm in the US. Prior to the scandal, Steinhoff acquired a controlling stake in Pepkor.
Following the scandal, Steinhoff - renamed as Ibex - has been reducing its ownership in Pepkor as a strategy to decrease its substantial debt over recent years.
Pepkor, with 6,000 stores, is leveraging the growing trend of mobile payments and banking services across Africa.
The retailer owns clothing brands Pep, Ackermans, Pep Africa and Avenida.
Pepkor has reported a 12.8% rise in group revenue to R48.8bn, and its operating profit witnessed a 13.3% increase to R5.8bn.
In September 2024, Shoprite reached an agreement to sell its furniture business, including the OK Furniture and House & Home brands, to Pepkor Holdings.
