Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited and its spin-off Cassava SmarTech Zimbabwe Limited traded 81,072,230 and 66,297,270 shares respectively.
These trades were executed by one material shareholder who was reallocating shares between two portfolios owned by the same shareholder.
No cash exchanged hands in the transaction.
The trades were done at $1.4775, as a negotiated deal, which was specifically approved by the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in line with the requirements of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Listings Rules.
The transaction raised eyebrows with speculation rife that the ‘huge deal’ was perhaps an insider trade move ahead of the Monetary Policy Statement announcement by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) tomorrow afternoon.
Zimbabweans are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Monetary Policy Statement as they anticipate huge shifts around the issue of currency in the country.
Econet Wireless founder and billionaire Strive Masiyiwa quickly moved to dismiss the transaction, describing it as “house-keeping.”
“Econet Global which I own, decided to move shares into another company, which I also own. I own both companies 100%. It has nothing to do with the listed companies. Our accountants were simply doing some house keeping. There was no deal,” said Masiyiwa.