BGI-Ethiopia and Purpose Black Trading have reached an agreement resolving their legal dispute over a cancelled land sale, with BGI agreeing to repay the 1.15 billion birr deposit it had received.
The dispute began in March 2024, when BGI terminated negotiations to sell its longtime brewery headquarters property in Bole to Purpose Black. BGI claimed Purpose Black lacked commitment to finalize the sale agreement. However, Purpose Black rejected the termination and accused BGI of cancelling the deal "for no apparent reason."
"BGI-Ethiopia and Purpose Black have settled their dispute through court-annexed mediation," a statement from BGI said. "The Federal Higher Court approved the agreement, terminated the case, and ordered the injunction to be lifted. Under the terms of the agreement, BGI-Ethiopia refunded the earnest payment to Purpose Black, and the court injunction was lifted."
The prized BGI site had been intended as the location for Purpose Black's proposed 115-story Ke'Geberew Tower residential and commercial skyscraper. Incorporated last year by CEO Fisseha Eshetu, Purpose Black has pursued an unconventional marketing scheme to finance the ambitious project through public share offerings.
Purpose Black launched a public stock offering last year, initially pricing shares at 1.5 million Birr each. Purpose Black reported strong early interest, claiming they sold 1,000 shares and raised 1.5 billion Birr within the first week. However, questions soon emerged around the second round of capital raising.
Rather than again opening shares to the general public, Purpose Black allegedly offered another 750 shares exclusively to a select group of individuals. These new shares were priced at a significantly higher 3.5 million Birr each, more than double the initial price.
