ZIMBABWE – CFI Holdings, a diversified investment company in Zimbabwe, has received US$33 million working capital to revamp its food processing divisions; Agrifoods and Victoria Foods.

The capital injection from Dominion Trading will also allow the food processing giant to undertake a scheme of arrangement that will allow the firm to revitalise and be fully operational.

According to a report by the Herald, Dominion Trading will invest US$18 million into Victoria Foods and US$15 million into Agrifoods.

The scheme of arrangement is expected to reschedule the debt and free up some space for capital and recurrent expenditure after the cash strapped companies were placed under judicial management in September 2016.

Mr Bulilisa Mbano, who is overseeing the incubation of the Agrifoods and Victoria Foods’ revitalisation exercise, said the company had invited its creditors for a scheme of arrangement to map the way forward on how to settle the debts.

Mr Mbano said CFI was grappling with a US$20 million debt, hence the proposed scheme of arrangement.

“We are pleased to announce that we have found an investor who has injected more than US$30 million working capital into CFI holdings divisions Agrifoods and Victoria Foods.

“The deal has sailed through and we have invited creditors for a scheme of arrangement next month. We are hopeful that the two companies will soon be up and running once we are done with the modalities for their operationalisation,” he said.

The capital injection is expected to improve Victoria Foods balance sheets by growing its revenues progressively from US$25 million in 2018 to more than US$40 million by 2020.

Victoria Foods, once a leading milling company, has an installed annual milling capacity is 147 000 tonnes.

Its parent company, CFI Holdings Limited is leading agricultural-based industrial holding company in Zimbabwe with investments primarily under manufacturing and selling fresh produce and stock feed.

Its poultry business is marketed and distributed through Agrifoods, Agrimix, Hubbard Zimbabwe, Glenara Estates, Crest Breeders International and Suncrest Chickens.

CFI also runs retail outlets which include Farm & City and Vetco Animal Health.

The frim was however suspended from trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) in January, 2018, after the company failed to comply with listing requirements.