Imperial Logistics prepares to go it alone. Imperial Holdings says the restructuring and separation of Imperial Logistics

and Motus was "among the most complex and ambitious undertaken in the SA

market in recent times".

Imperial Logistics will start its standalone future a week from today after it

cleared the final hurdle to the unbundling of automotive group Motus.

Parent company Imperial Holdings said yesterday that the Takeover Regulation

Panel had given the go-ahead ahead for the unbundling of Motus to shareholders

on 22 October. Following that, Imperial will start trading as Imperial

Logistics on 5 December.

The changes are the culmination of a four-year restructuring programme, which

acting chief executive Mohammed Akoojee said was "among the most complex and

ambitious undertaken in the SA market in recent times".

The separation of its automotive and logistics businesses is aimed at giving

shareholders the opportunity to participate directly in either group as

Imperial had discovered there was an absence of operational synergies between

the two. While Imperial Logistics counts businesses as clients, Motus is

primarily consumer-facing. The two are already managed and reported on

independently and the unbundling will allow them to access debt and equity

markets separately.

Imperial Logistics has diverse operations across the continent and Europe and

is expected to deliver sustainable revenue growth, enhanced profitability and

a stable dividend. It's ranked in the top 25 global third-party logistics

providers. It has an established infrastructure and networks in 38 countries

on five continents, with about 30,000 employees. It says its geographical

spread and strong leadership make it a trusted partner to multinational

clients and that its leading positions in regional markets provide a platform

for sustainable growth. The enhanced financial flexibility a separate listing

will give will also underpin its potential for acquisitions.

"As we look forward to a new chapter with Imperial Logistics and Motus being

listed as separate entities, the key priorities of both management teams are

to continue to position their companies as market leaders in their respective

industries and to ensure that each delivers on its strategic, financial and

operational objectives and targets over the next three to five years," Akoojee

said.

Standard Bank, which together with JP Morgan advised on the restructuring,

said the separation had created "two new blue-chip standalone businesses,

appropriately capitalised and focused on generating enhanced value for

shareholders".