Mutapa Fund To Inject US$56 Million Into CSC Revival
The Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), a government-owned fund set up over a year ago to help struggling state-owned companies, is set to invest US$56.3 million into the Cold Storage Company (CSC) after creditors approved a recovery plan this week.
The plan outlines that MIF will start with a US$9 million investment this year, followed by more funding over the next three years.
According to a document from corporate rescue expert Crispen Mwete, the money will be used to pay off debts, improve infrastructure, restock cattle, and restart operations. Part of the document reads:
Cold Storage Company Limited was placed under corporate rescue in December 2020 after an investor, Boustead Beef (Private) Limited, who had signed the Livestock Joint Farming Concession Agreement with the Government of Zimbabwe, failed to inject the required US$130 million as stipulated in the agreement.
The shareholder, Mutapa Investment Fund, will invest a total of US$56,3 million over the next three years to settle the company’s debts, revitalise the infrastructure, restock cattle ranches and resume viable operations.
The document states that CSC’s efforts to resume operations faced challenges, mainly due to claims from Boustead Beef, investors, and other creditors seeking to recover their funds. It reads:
The corporate rescue proceedings faced numerous legal challenges mainly from Boustead Beef, who caused the removal of two successive corporate rescue practitioners thereby stalling and delaying the proceedings.
The main stumbling block to the business rescue of the company was the agreement between Boustead Beef and the Government of Zimbabwe, which the two parties deemed to be extant despite CSC having been placed under corporate rescue due to the failure of the joint venture.
In 2024, the government moved to terminate a joint venture deal with British investor Boustead Beef.
The joint venture collapsed after the government accused the British company of not meeting the terms of the deal. The British investors later returned, demanding compensation.
Under the CSC revival plan approved by creditors this week, the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) will initially invest US$9.3 million in 2025.
This money will go towards settling the company’s debts and repairing the Bulawayo abattoir.
CSC will also tap into climate-related funding through a carbon credits programme. A US$50 million facility has already been secured for this, and once implemented, it will turn CSC into a modern, eco-friendly meat processor powered by clean, renewable energy.
The revival plan also noted that workers and local authorities owe a total of US$3 million. Meanwhile, MIF will pay foreign creditors US$1.5 million within the next 90 days.
The plan predicts that CSC will come out of receivership in August, after which MIF’s investment will be used to buy cattle, repair abattoirs, rehabilitate farms, and invest in other key areas.
More: Independent
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