Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Wi-Fi or mobile? Tug-of-war over 6GHz intensifies

      25 June 2025

      War of words erupts over home affairs database fee hike

      24 June 2025

      Don’t expect Starlink in South Africa anytime soon

      24 June 2025

      Finally! Tribunal unpacks why it blocked Vodacom’s Vumatel deal

      24 June 2025

      Samsung to unveil new folding phones at July event

      24 June 2025
    • World

      Russia to launch state-backed rival to WhatsApp

      25 June 2025

      Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines hits $10-billion valuation

      24 June 2025

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E3: Behind Takealot’s revenue surge

      23 June 2025

      TCS | South Africa’s Sociable wants to make social media social again

      23 June 2025

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      South Africa risks being left behind as stablecoins reshape global finance

      6 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Caxton deal ends years of squabbling

    Caxton deal ends years of squabbling

    By Chantelle Benjamin8 December 2013
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    newspapers-640

    Shareholders in an unlisted and little-known company, ElementOne, will have heaved a collective sigh of relief after a consortium offered to acquire its full 39,4% share in the publishing and media company Caxton in a R2,3bn transaction was approved.

    There was some confusion last week after a press release created the impression that Remgro, headed by its chairperson, Johann Rupert, was buying the stake, giving him a substantial holding in Caxton — but that has since been denied.

    BidCo, a special investment vehicle consisting of Eikenlust, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Remgro, and Rand Merchant Bank have offered to pay R22,51/share, which comprises shares at a fixed price of R17,70, with the remainder made up of cash — R475m from ElementOne.

    Remgro, which owns about 7% of the new structure, will retain that holding, according to Remgro CEO Jannie Durant. He said their involvement was indirect and they would not be increasing their stake in Caxton.

    “There appears to be some confusion about Remgro’s role,” he said on Monday. “No cash is being put in by Remgro. The company is just part of a vehicle being used to unbundle the shares.”

    Remgro has a shareholding in e.tv as a majority shareholder of Hosken Consolidated Investments, but has shown little interest in expanding into print. If anything, the indications are that Remgro is more interested in radio and has its eye on the successful Kagiso Media.

    The bid, if approved by the Com­pet­ition Commission and given the thumbs up by an independent evaluator, brings to an end four years of legal and boardroom wrangling, some of it apparently acrimonious.

    For several years, major shareholders such as Allan Gray and Coronation were unable to sell their shares because of a complex holding structure.

    The shares in ElementOne could not be sold because Caxton CEO Terry Moolman insisted that Caxton had a decade-old agreement with Johncom, now the Times Media Group, for first rights on the shares. There was also a complicated direct and indirect shareholding through several companies.

    Caxton also owns 20% of Element­One, a holding that Moolman increased in the past two years.

    The BidCo offer was made within weeks of an announcement by Element­One that it would unbundle about 18% of its shares, which it held directly.

    It is hoped the deal will make more shares available on the market, but it has also firmly entrenched Moolman’s control of Caxton.

    Sources familiar with the deal say it has Moolman’s full blessing, as it ensures he retains full control of the company. He has a 46% shareholding in Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers through a vehicle controlled by himself and Noel Coburn.

    Moolman refused to comment this week, saying that he knew “nothing about the deal”.

    The shares initially rose by 25% on Friday to R25 on the news, before ending 18,2% down on Monday at R20,45. Market analysts believe that shareholders might not have realised initially that the offer only applies to ElementOne shareholders.

    ElementOne’s history has been eventful. It was formed at the time that Johncom sold its stake in M-Net and SuperSport to Naspers. Johncom was separated into the publishing arm Avusa and ElementOne, which held some cash as well as the Caxton stake.

    In a hearing in the high court in Johannesburg in 2010, Moolman accused Allan Gray and Coronation of trying to gain control of Element­One to break up Caxton for short-term monetary gain as, he claimed, they had done to Johncom.  — (c) 2013 Mail & Guardian

    • Visit the Mail & Guardian Online, the smart news source


    Competition Commission ElementOne Jannie Durant Johann Rupert Remgro Terry Moolman
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleDigital TV move sows confusion
    Next Article IBM takes aim at Nairobi gridlock

    Related Posts

    Finally! Tribunal unpacks why it blocked Vodacom’s Vumatel deal

    24 June 2025

    MultiChoice sale to Canal+ clears major hurdle

    21 May 2025

    Khudusela Pitje: SA regulators failed black entrepreneurs in fibre sector

    23 April 2025
    Company News

    LEO satellite industry is on the horns of a dilemma

    25 June 2025

    Africa’s power industry bolsters digitalisation with Huawei

    25 June 2025

    Communication costs exploding? Telviva has a fix for UK-SA teams

    24 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.