No surprises here, but it seems that the acquisition of Shoprite might be on the rocks, given the shaky status of the business which was to acquire said pan-African retailer. Although investors are now concerned that Oom Christo may have to put his Shoprite shares up for sale to maintain liquidity, which won’t do their price any favours. The merest suggestion of a silver lining may come in the generous offer of Mr James Wellwood “Whitey” Basson to step up to the chair of that great business should Christo Wiese feel (or indeed be) compelled to step down. Is Whitey glad the merger – which he stiffly opposed – didn’t squeak through? Whitey is a philosopher, and religious: "Are you asking if the Pope is Catholic?” he asks rhetorically.

Comment: Let’s give the last word to Piet Viljoen, executive chairman of investment company RECM. "Poor ethics is part of capitalism,” he observes, “because greed drives poor ethics.” Ok wait, let’s save the last word for ourselves: “Only if we continue to celebrate greed as a feature rather than deplore it as a bug.”

Bookbuilding, as any of our analyst friends in their sharkskin suits and razor thin sunglasses will tell you, is the process by which a business offers shares for sale to major investors in order to determine what price they should sell at to the rest of us, while raising capital for the business in question. Dis-Chem’s recent bookbuild – which raised them a cool R1.12bn – saw the value of the share decline by 11%, or a 9.3% discount to the price at which they listed. This notwithstanding, all of the available shares were snapped up within 24 hours of going on offer, leaving Ivan Saltzman holding a controlling 52.7% stake in the business, which is focusing on growing market share, adding stores to its footprint and – one assumes – extending the reach of its wholesale arm CJ Distribution.

Comment: And of course, nipping at the heels of chief corporate rival Clicks.

Just a quick rerun in case you missed this news last week: following two years of negotiations with potential investors, UMS have announced the merger of numerous successful entrepreneurs together with UMS and BEST BUY into a new consolidated holding company, which will go by the name of “Unitrade Investment Holdings.” The group is divided into two segments, the first housing voluntary trading associations UMS and BEST BUY, and the second known as “Consolidated Store Holdings”. All liquor businesses associated with the merged stores have been removed into a separate entity, ensuring that the businesses of UMS and BEST BUY remain in respect of UMS’ members of the Islamic faith, a move that aims “to ensure their values and life commitments are enshrined in our own constitution.” Jad Pereira will remain CEO and Executive Chairman of the consolidated group, with Dustin Pereira as head of UMS and BEST BUY, and Jose Correia at the helm of Consolidated Store Holdings. The investment into this venture is led by a consortium across the UMS and BEST BUY membership base, and the Sefelana group (the first listed Botswana entity), who bring a wealth of experience with them.

Comment: We look forward to following Unitrade’s developments into the new year. Be sure to come and hear directly from Dustin and some of UMS' most significant members at the Ti Independent Trade Forum in 2018.

So Le Grand Bleu has finally got itself out of the spreads business, with the sale of the unit to KKR & Co. for $8.1bn. Why was KKR so keen to have the unit, which after all has been shrinking – to the tune, for example, of 2% in the third quarter of the year? It’s highly profitable, that’s why, with a margin of 20% compared with 16% across the rest of the Unilever business. In other Unilever news, the early-adopting grocery giant is going all in on blockchain, which we’ll throw in there like we totally know what that is, using the technology to manage transactions within its tea supply chain – specifically to develop a system that will track and verify contracts for farmers in Malawi. Blockchain enables users to record transactions efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way – ideal for the complexities of a supply chain with many small suppliers.

Comment: A business which learns and grows and adapts, and one we have long admired.

Two acquisitions, or rumours thereof, for your perusing pleasure this week. First up, Pioneer Foods, which has made another purchase in the UK after buying Stream Foods, of kids’ snack ‘Fruit Bowl’ fame. Now they’re snaffling up The Good Carb Company, manufacturer of the iconic Lizi’s granola brand. What? Never heard of them neither? But granola is apparently growing massively in the land of porridge and suet pudding, about time too. Whatever they’re paying – and they’re not telling – we’re sure it’s worth it. Next up: Sea Harvest is going all horned-helmet berserker on Viking Fishing, again for an undisclosed amount. Viking is one of the biggest outfits in South African waters, pulling out such denizens of the deep as hake, pilchards, prawn, snoek and angelfish, although it has recently lost its inshore hake license and this might have put it in mind of a sale. Sea Harvest is also bidding for a controlling interest in Viking aquaculture business, which markets such delicacies as abalone, oysters, mussels and rainbow trout.

Comment: Two big deals, two very different markets.

Dash it all, but retail sales for October came in way lower than the economists had predicted, with growth slowing to 3.2% after their more robust 5.4% in September. The big winner in this cycle was that amorphous group of retailers that StatsSA see fit to classify as “other”, and the general consensus is that sales were muted because everyone was waiting for the hot, hot deals of Black Friday. Word on the street, however, is that inflation – which at 4.4% is lower than it’s been for five years – will drive more people to the malls, and that November’s showing,  with Black Friday now a factor, is likely to be way, way better than October. Although with PPI up unexpectedly for November, this is not a set of circumstances to which we should become too accustomed.

Comment: Still, the fact that strapped as she is, the South African punter never fails to show up is what passes for a Christmas miracle these days.

Woah. This. Is. Huge. Walmart is changing its name. From Walmart Stores to, wait, that can’t be right, yes it is. To Walmart. Big fat nothingburger. Sorry team. And across the pond, Tesco, which is still wrapping up its court case for the fraudulent overstatement of earnings, is in further trouble for marketing meat with fake farm names on the packaging, in order for punters to think that they are eating Daisy, of Buttercup Farm in Sussex, who enjoyed a rich, full life of undulating meadows and babbling brooks until she found her way happily and willingly to your fork.

Here’s one bit of toughness you’ve been spared by this horrible year: overcooked turkey. Woolies, you see, is putting no frozen turkey in its freezers – not any – due to outbreaks of avian flu in Europe. Although they will have chilled fresh turkey products and turkey roast portions from countries in the southern hemisphere that have not been affected by the virus. And Pick n Pay seems to have plenty, so Christmas is saved! Also, you could buy yourself some nice chicken sosaties and a big slab of rump, joining thousands of other South African who are eschewing the over-rated fowl in favour of South Africa’s favourite cuisine, the braai.