JSE acquires a majority stake in Link Market Services S Africa
THE CONTINENT’S biggest bourse, the JSE, is spreading its wings with the acquisition of a majority stake in Link Market Services South Africa.
The JSE announced yesterday that it would buy a 74.85 percent stake in Link SA for R224 million from Link Market Services Limited, a company incorporated in Australia. The JSE said Link SA’s black economic empowerment (BEE) partner would retain its 25.15 percent stake in the company.
It said Link SA’s chief executive, Iqbal Haniff, would retain his position and the company would retain its level 2 BEE rating post the transaction.
“The proposed transaction supports the JSE’s strategy to strengthen its relationships with its issuers and to grow sustainably across the issuer services value chain,” the JSE said.
Link SA is the second largest share register business in South Africa and has a client base that includes six of the top 40 issuers.
The bourse said the transaction would be revenue accretive with an expected contribution of about 6 percent exceeding its return on investment hurdles.
Avior Capital Markets analyst David Talpert said the move by the JSE was a positive one, as it would allow it to diversify its revenue away from share trading.
“This will diversify the
JSE’s revenue generation, because trading activity can be volatile, so a different revenue source will bring increased earnings stability,” he said.
The Link Market Services group delivers integrated capital market, registry and related services to international companies listed on multiple exchanges
It manages and maintains the registers of more than 2 000 issuers, representing more than 30 million shareholders. TWO FORMER executives of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) implicated in a report into the looting of the VBS Mutual Bank have been declared delinquent directors, the asset manager said yesterday.
In a statement, the PIC welcomed the order handed down by the Pretoria High Court on August 20, declaring the two former directors delinquent. “The PIC brought an application to have the former executive head for legal counsel, governance and compliance, Mr Ernest
In Australia and New Zealand alone, the group administers more than 7 million shareholders on the registers of more than 1 800 securities, including many of the region’s largest companies, together with unit registers of more than 250 funds managed by some of the world’s largest investment institutions.
The JSE said the transaction was expected to be finalised by the end of the year, subject to the required approvals being obtained. Nesane, and the former executive head for risk management, Paul Magula, declared delinquent following an investigation into the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank that directly implicated them in corrupt activities,” the statement said.
Nesana resigned two days after he testified before Terry Motau, who led the investigation into the collapse of VBS on behalf of the South African Reserve Bank. Magula was dismissed in April 2018 following a disciplinary process.