Johannesburg, 26 June 2024: Rainbow Chicken, originally founded in 1960 as a small family-owned business, has become one of South Africa’s largest poultry providers in the past six decades. Today, the company is a fully integrated broiler producer and functions at all stages of chicken production, from farm to fork. The Rainbow Group’s fully integrated business model incorporates all stages of chicken production, with the Rainbow Group controlling and operating 165 farms, 1,288 houses, eight hatcheries, three primary processing plants, two further processing plants dedicated to added-value chicken products, six animal feed mills, and holding a 50% shareholding in a joint venture (“Matzonox”) which operates two waste-to-value plants.

Rainbow Chicken boasts a rich portfolio of heritage brands renowned for their strong customer affinity and continuous relevance in the market. The company's primary retail brands (Rainbow, Rainbow Simply Chicken, and Farmer Brown), alongside its food service brands (Rainbow FlavourBurst and Rainbow Ready2Go), cater to a wide array of consumer needs and preferences.

In addition, as South Africa’s second-largest feed company, Rainbow Chicken ensures the delivery of consistent, high-quality feed through its esteemed brands, Epol and Driehoek Feeds.

The JSE listing is part of the process of Rainbow being unbundled by its parent company, consumer goods giant, RCL Foods Limited, a decision which was first announced in March this year. The unbundling represents a new chapter for Rainbow Chicken, offering our local investors a new investment opportunity.                                                               

Rainbow CEO Marthinus Stander expressed, “Stepping out as a standalone entity marks a significant milestone for Rainbow, carving out a unique and competitive position in the market. We aim to re-establish and rebuild our chicken and feed businesses as best-in-class in terms of customer-centricity, delivering value via innovation and leveraging our heritage. This bold move heralds a wave of exciting opportunities for growth in both our business and our people. Our commitment to a smooth transition ensures minimal disruption to our operations. We have robust plans to maintain stability and efficiency, continuing our tradition of excellence.

We look forward to innovative developments in our product offerings, enhanced community initiatives, and a stronger brand presence.”

The poultry provider’s unbundling will be implemented through a distribution of 890, 296 405 ordinary shares, in the ratio of 1 Rainbow Chicken Limited. share for every 1 RCL Foods Limited share held – with shares set to start trading from 1 July.

“We are thrilled to welcome Rainbow Chicken to the JSE as an organisation seeking new growth avenues for the business, and pleased that the company selected the JSE as a preferred venue to unlock value,” says Valdene Reddy, Director of Capital Markets at the JSE.

“We’ve already seen several listings in recent years where an entity has chosen to unbundle, usually to find new direct access to equity markets and supporting firms as they expand. Similarly, we know that Rainbow Chicken’s decision to list as its own entity is a testament to the JSE’s ability to provide issuers with access to liquidity and capital on our exchange,” concludes Reddy.

Rainbow Chicken will be listed under the “Food Products” classification of the Main Board of the JSE, pushing up the number of listed companies to 282 and an overall market capitalisation exceeding R18.8 trillion.

ENDS

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