Troubled Nigerian-listed company Atlas Industries has announced the disposal of its Ethiopian glass making subsidiary to two existing shareholders, effectively leaving the company without any assets. Atlas announced recently it is selling East Africa Packaging Holdings Ltd - its Ethiopian subsidiary TEAP Glass to Innovative Africa Investments Ltd and Eagle Investments Ltd, in exchange for the 276.72m shares they hold in Atlas (equivalent to 18% of its total issued shares). The sale, which is subject to shareholder approval, comes in the wake of failed attempts by Atlas to recover some US$ 2.4m that was seized from its accounts in May 2016 by the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority, which said Atlas had tax arrears. Atlas had entered the Ethiopian market in December 2015, intending to put up a glass manufacturing facility in Chancho, near the capital Addis Ababa. "Despite this, there remains no visibility on when these monies might be returned and safety assured for the company's staff within the country," said Atlas CEO Carl Esprey in a statement. "The board has taken the view that it is not viable to continue operations in Ethiopia." He also announced that the company has abandoned its plans to invest in the Nigerian betting industry after failing to raise funds for the investment.
