Ann Crotty

Writer-at-Large at Business Day

Writer at Moneyweb

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Articles

Koos Bekker’s share sales: Bricks over tech?

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

If you happen to agree with US historian Graham T Allison’s “Thucydides Trap” view of global affairs (the state of “inevitable discombobulation that occurs when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling power”) and, if you also believe that China will emerge the superior global force from that historical process, then Tencent is surely one of the most attractive investments on our current turbulent investment horizon.
The trouble with the King codes’ toothless director recommendations

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

There’s an air of weary resignation about the draft King V code’s recommendations on director independence. As though the drafters are thinking: “Surely this isn’t necessary? Surely this is tantamount to repeating the bloody obvious?” But repeat it, they do. And on this issue repetition is necessary. It probably doesn’t help that the King committee keeps providing escape clauses. In governance that’s referred to as “substance over form”. Take a look at the recently released draft.
Tau’s R100bn transformation ‘plan’ void of detail

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

You have to wonder where the mandarins running the department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) have been hanging out for the past 31 years. Or at least where the authors of treatises such as the recently released “Draft Transformation Fund Concept Document” have been holed up. The so-called “concept document” purports to provide details about the functioning of the R100bn fund first announced by DTIC minister Parks Tau at the end of 2024. It does nothing of the sort.
Rating the AGMs: The last of the season

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

The last three AGMs of the first quarter season (that Currency was able to attend) represents a fairly motley crew. Each, in its own way, is involved in the finance industry but none is a bank. The first (RMH) is at the end of its life, the second (WeBuyCars or WBC) is at the beginning of its life as a listed entity, and the third (Coronation Fund Managers), is somewhere in between.
MTN’s Monty Python moment

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

There’s a touch of Monty Python about MTN’s just-released results for the 12 months to end-December 2024. “MTN Group is well positioned to capture the exciting opportunities in our markets and deliver on our medium-term objectives to sustain growth, create shared value in nation states and communities, and unlock value for our stakeholders,” said group CEO Ralph Mupita – sounding a little like the Black Knight in Monty Python’s Holy Grail.
Rating the AGMs – how the old Barlow’s unbundlings stack up - Currency News

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

Have we just witnessed the very last Barloworld AGM? If the Saudi Arabia-based Zahid Group can persuade UK-based Silchester International Investors, one of Barloworld’s largest shareholders, to accept its R120-a-share offer, Barloworld’s mid-February AGM 2025 will have been it. But given Silchester’s steady resolve to date, and its stated belief in the long-term prospects of Barloworld, there’s a reasonable chance there will be at least one more general meeting – its 85th – in February 2026.
Barloworld wants your vote – but it’s not making it easy for you - Currency News

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

In the best of times finalising a merger can be an extremely complex and long-drawn-out process. Think of all the regulatory approvals that need to be secured, often from regulators in several countries. Remember the AB InBev takeover of SABMiller? Or before that Walmart’s takeover of Massmart? More recent was Heineken’s acquisition of Distell. Then there’s the Canal+ deal with MultiChoice that has disappeared into regulatory purgatory.
Barloworld surges on bidder’s chatter

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

Barloworld’s shares bounced over 9% on Monday and Tuesday, taking it back towards the level at which it was trading before shareholders at the general meeting in late February rejected the R120-a-share offer from Newco, a consortium led by Saudi Arabian company Zahid Group. The recovery in the stock appears to have been prompted by a Bloomberg story in which senior Zahid executive Augostino Sfeir said Newco would go ahead with the deal even if it did not get the targeted 90% acceptance rate.
Consortium pulls the CAT card

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

There’s a slightly ominous tone to the latest communication from the consortium trying to buy out the Barloworld shareholders. A sort of “give up and take the offer or else” tone. In Donald Trump language, it’s as though the consortium is holding back on a killer card it will play if forced to. Of course, not all shareholders will interpret it that way.
Shareholders stonewall RMH non-execs’ pay

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

Fed up with runaway executive remuneration and want to do more than just “advise” the board of your unhappiness? Get a few like-minded shareholders together and vote against the non-executive directors’ fees. That’s what a group of RMH shareholders did at the AGM on Wednesday. It wasn’t a long-term plan; it turns out disgruntled shareholders had managed to build up a sufficient stake in the company – thanks to its sustained underperformance – and found themselves in a position to make a statement.