A consortium led by South African investment company Brait PLC (JSE:BAT) has revived plans to exit Consol Glass (Pty) Ltd., two sources said, possibly via an initial public offering (IPO) three years after a previous failed attempt. The private equity investors took Consol, which describes itself as sub-Saharan Africa's largest glass manufacturer, private in 2007 for 6.1 billion rand, worth around $1 billion at the time. Brait's interest in the company is held via its Brait Fund IV, which has a 29.7% stake in Consol.

In 2018 the consortium, which also includes the private equity arm of insurer Old Mutual Limited (JSE:OMU) and Sanlam Limited (JSE:SLM), wanted to sell roughly a third of Consol to raise ZAR 3 billion, or around $250 million at the time after a depreciation in the value of the rand. That would have valued the entire company at around ZAR 10 billion. They have now appointed banks to advise them in their latest attempt at an exit, two sources, one directly involved in the discussions and another familiar with the matter, told Reuters.

The options on the table include a second shot at an IPO, the source directly involved said, but declined to give any further details. Consol said in a statement its policy was not to comment on speculation but that it would advise all stakeholders accordingly in the event that any future IPO or change of ownership is concluded. “We do not speculate or provide comment on rumours pertaining to the asset owned or managed by Brait,” Brait told Reuters.

Britain's Barclays is one of the banks that is working with the consortium, both sources said. The second source familiar with the talks said the investment banking arm of local lender FirstRand, RMB, had also been appointed. Barclays and RMB declined to comment.

Old Mutual and Sanlam did not immediately provide a comment. Three investment bankers told Reuters a series of exit attempts are on the horizon, especially in the industrials sector as South Africa slowly catches up with a trend already underway in the West.