Lonrho agrees to £175m buyout deal Lonrho, the former London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company, has agreed to be taken over in a £174.5m deal by a company controlled by Swiss investors Rainer-Marc Frey and Thomas Schmidheiny. In a statement on Wednesday, the conglomerate - which operates in Africa and is focused on logistics and infrastructure for the agriculture and oil and gas sectors - announced a recommended cash offer by FS Africa, which holds a 20 per cent stake. The deal would take private the 100-year-old British group. Incorporated in London in 1909, Lonrho was built into a global conglomerate by Roland "Tiny" Rowland, the larger-than-life businessman who led the company for more than 30 years, beginning in 1963. But Mr Rowland's empire unravelled in the early 1990s amid declining metal prices and increasing debt. Lonrho shareholders will get 10.25p per share, a 97 per cent premium to Tuesday's closing price of 5.2p and a 38 per cent premium to the six-month average share price of 7.42p. Lonrho shares rose 89 per cent to 9.8p in early Wednesday trading in London. FS Africa, an English company created for the purpose of the acquisition, is jointly owned and controlled by Mr Frey and Mr Schmidheiny. "We believe Lonrho has strong long-term prospects, but the significant capital required to grow the business over time is evident," said Mr Schmidheiny. Ambassador Frances Cook, Lonrho chairman, said: "Lonrho has been rapidly growing its four strategic divisions aligned with the economic growth being driven by the agriculture and oil and gas sectors, such that Lonrho now operates throughout 18 countries in Africa. FS Africa recognises these achievements and wants to build on our well-established platform to further expand and invest in the business to enhance Lonrho's market-leading positions. FS Africa requires 75 per cent of the shares it doesn't own to be voted in favour of the deal and has undertakings from about 18 per cent of investors backing the transaction.