Africa-Press – South-Africa. Jannie Mouton’s Foundation has received approval from the Competition Commission to acquire Curro, the nation’s largest private school group.
Mouton is one of the nation’s wealthiest individuals and founded the PSG group, which has gone on to support several successful businesses, including Capitec, PSG Financial Services, and Curro.
Curro is South Africa’s largest independent school network, with over 70,000 students across the nation.
Curro’s services include digital learning, various curricula tailored for specific students, as well as pre-school, primary, and secondary school offerings.
The Jannie Mouton Foundation, a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), now plans to acquire Curro in a deal worth R7.2 billion. The trust already owns around 3.0% of Curro.
Mouton established the foundation in 2004 as a means to further invest in the nation’s education, having already donated a significant portion of his wealth to the foundation.
The foundation wants to position Curro as an ever-evolving independent education institution that uses funds to build more schools, grow facilities and offer bursaries.
The transaction would enable Curro to continue growing independently, with the current management team on board. Curro will also become a registered PBO and delist from the JSE.
As per the offer, the foundation will provide existing shareholders with a minor cash consideration, as well as shares in Capitec and PSG Financial Services. The roughly R13 per share offer works out to:
A cash Consideration of R0.85837 per Scheme Share (which will comprise approximately 6.6% of the Scheme Consideration)
Capitec Shares in the ratio of 0.00284 Capitec Shares per Scheme Share (which will comprise approximately 79.7% of the Scheme Consideration);
PSG Financial Services Shares in the ratio of 0.07617 PSG Financial Services Shares per Scheme Share (which will comprise approximately 13.7% of the Scheme Consideration).
After delisting, Curro’s growth will be accelerated via reinvestment of its potential returns/surplus.
The foundation said that this will enable Curro to grow its offerings faster via new builds, expansions, the acquisition of schools and innovation in education.
Gets the green light
The Competition Commission has now recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the proposed transaction where the trust intends to acquire Curro.
The commission said that the transaction is unlikely to lessen or prevent competition in any market.
The commission said that the Tribunal should approve the proposed transaction, subject to undertakings that will make a substantial positive contribution to education.
This includes providing greater access to historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs).
Curro said that it will provide a further update to shareholders during the course of next week regarding the final undertakings, which are still subject to acceptance by the offeror.
The company will also explain the timing of the Tribunal’s approval process.
The deal has seen Curro’s share price rise dramatically, with investors drawn to the Capitec shares on offer.
Over the last six months, Capitec and PSG Financial Services have both seen their share prices rise by around 25%.
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