Ann Crotty

Writer-at-Large at Business Day

Writer at Moneyweb

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Articles

AGM watch: Old Mutual and Nedbank show up shoddy MTN

5 days 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

1 week 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

2 weeks 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

2 weeks 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.
Sasol makes short work of South Africa’s carbon pledges

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

On November 13 2024, National Treasury released a discussion paper on phase 2 of the carbon tax that had come into effect in June 2019. Interested parties had until December 13 to make submissions. Given the technical nature of the discussion paper and its year-end release, the 30-day deadline was distressingly tight for most interested parties. Especially seeing as the document was initially flagged as far back as February 2024.
Barloworld delay casts doubt on deal

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

Well, an offer for Barloworld initially touted as too good to be rejected seems to be getting the cold shoulder from shareholders. With minimal acceptance of the bid by the original May 9 deadline, the Newco consortium behind the R120-a-share offer needed more time. Without an extension or the waiving of a key condition, it had no hope of securing control of the storied South African industrial group. On Friday, Barloworld’s independent board announced it has agreed to give Newco until June 30.
AGMs: Going online to virtually dodge accountability?

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

It may seem a bit of a stretch, but with increasing numbers of companies pushing for online-only AGMs, what are the chances of shareholder capitalism drifting towards the sort of autocracy the US president is trying to popularise in the political sphere? Before you guffaw at the suggestion, who would have thought, as recently as a year ago, that the world would be witness to the sort of jaw-dropping assaults on democracy that appear to have become commonplace in the US?
Ayo’s legal headaches mount

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

Ayo Technology Solutions, which has just had its JSE suspension lifted, is rather like one of those hapless cartoon characters to whom things keep happening; frequently, bad things. Mind you, it’s enjoyed a few outstandingly good things too. For instance, on December 14 2017, just days before Ayo was due to list on the JSE, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) signed two irrevocable subscription applications subscribing for 99.8-million shares in Ayo at a price of R43 a share.
What Trump’s trade rivals might use as payback

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

In all the tit-for-tatting that has passed for negotiation in an international trade environment dominated by US President Donald Trump, services have received remarkably little attention. Until now. One obvious reason for the lack of attention is that the services story doesn’t fit into Trump’s big narrative about the US being a victim of global trade. And, right now, trade is Trump’s story.
Barloworld buyout a step closer as PIC caves - Currency News

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

Africa’s largest asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has stuck to its guns and extracted a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deal worth R3bn from the consortium wrangling to buy Barloworld. The Newco consortium, led by Saudi Arabia’s Zahid Group and Barloworld’s CEO Dominic Sewela, offered to buy out shareholders in the 123-year-old industrial company for R120 per share last December in a landmark deal valued at R23.3bn.