Ann Crotty

Writer-at-Large at Business Day

Writer at Moneyweb

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Articles

Here’s the law that’s tying merger deals in knots

1 week ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

For years, the competition authorities have quietly got on with their jobs, approving hundreds of mergers annually, most without conditions or fuss. Then every so often along comes a mega-merger and they’re dragged into the excoriating spotlight, igniting tales of woe and their terminally declining standards. That’s what happened with Vodacom’s R13.2bn bid to acquire a co-controlling 30%-40% stake in Maziv, the parent of fibre broadband operator Vumatel.
Is the Barloworld deal good to go?

1 week ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

Whatever else it achieves, the Barloworld transaction looks set to make history by wending its way through the traditionally sluggish halls of the competition authorities in record time. And, though the details have not been finalised, the deal has not only been processed speedily – it looks set to be approved without onerous conditions.
AGMs: JSE is tops, Sanlam isn’t

1 week ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

How is it possible that a long-established, powerful, well-resourced institution like Sanlam is happy to put its name and reputation to an AGM that has all the hallmarks of a bored and exhausted institution struggling to cope with the end of its days? You might have thought the presence of a new chair would inject some vigour into the meeting. Not a chance. Indeed, Temba Mvusi, who assumed the chair from Patrice Motsepe, set the meeting’s grim tone.
Barloworld’s CompCom boost - Currency News

2 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

Judging by the barely discernible move in the Barloworld share price, investors didn’t seem particularly impressed by the Competition Commission’s rapid approval of the proposed acquisition of control by Newco, a consortium led by Saudi Arabia-based Zahid. So unimpressed, in fact, that the day after the commission released the media statement announcing it had recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the transaction, the share edged down to R107.50 from R109.
The Mpact-Caxton thaw is happening

2 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

Is peace about to break out between Caxton and Mpact? At Mpact’s recent AGM, shareholders voted in support of the special resolution needed to pay non-executive directors (NEDs). It was the first time since June 2021’s AGM that the resolution had received the necessary backing. This is because since the June 2022 AGM, Caxton has used its 34.8% stake in Mpact to block most of the special resolutions, which require 75% backing from shareholders.
Spar: Buy high, sell low

3 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

One of Spar’s greatest strengths is its network of independent retailers. In large part these are hardworking, driven and entrepreneurial individuals who have invested considerable amounts of their own financial resources in the hope of building a wealth-creating business. While Spar’s model isn’t exactly flexible, as one analyst tells Currency, it’s very likely the commitment of these individuals that has kept Spar producing profits during the past four, remarkably tough, years.
AGM watch: Old Mutual and Nedbank show up shoddy MTN

3 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

It shouldn’t be, but it might be of some comfort to long-suffering customers of MTN to know that the company appears to be as dismissive of shareholders’ interests as it is of its customers. At least that’s how it felt after watching the shoddy affair that was passed off as an MTN AGM last week. According to chair Mcebisi Jonas there were 13 other directors present at the meeting. Well, we’ll take his word for it.
Ayo: A pathetic end to a shameful beginning

4 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

Eight years and more than R14bn later, Ayo Technology Solutions is set to exit the JSE. The company listed in December 2017 at a market capitalisation of R14.3bn; the buyout proposal being considered by shareholders, which is expected to take effect by December 2025, values the company at just R170m. And guess what? Its exit seems certain to be draped in as much controversy as its entrance and the intervening 90 months were.
Is it a unicorn? Is it a phoenix? No, it’s Sasol! - Currency News

1 month ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

It could have been written by Donald Trump. Or perhaps, for him. Or perhaps for mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe. Sasol’s “burn, baby, burn” strategy, designed to “strengthen, grow and transform” its business, went down remarkably well with the market. As the group’s top executives rolled out their plan to pump up production at Secunda, which happens to be the world’s largest single-site emitter of greenhouse gases, the Sasol share price surged.
Why Sasol still calls the climate shots

1 month ago | currencynews.co.za | Ann Crotty

Climate change is the most significant threat to the sustainability of short-term insurers in South Africa, according to Soul Abraham, the chief executive for retail at Old Mutual Insure. “The sector has already witnessed numerous casualties, with several non-life insurers offering personal and commercial lines of insurance being forced to shut down due to escalating risks,” Abraham said at a conference late last year.