Sanlam has made an offer to buy a controlling stake in black-owned JSE-listed investment group AfroCentric, which owns medical aid administrator Medscheme.
Sanlam wants to acquire at minimum 36.6%, or a maximum of 43.9% of AfroCentric shares from its shareholders at R6 per share (or shares in Sanlam). The maximum offer equates to at least R1.4 billion.
As part of the transaction, Sanlam proposes that its stake of almost 29% in ACT Healthcare Assets (AHA) be transferred to AfroCentric in exchange for an equal stake in AfroCentric.
AHA is the holding company of AfroCentric’s assets, including Pharmacy Direct, the country’s biggest pharmacy courier and Medscheme, the second-largest medical aid administrator after Discovery.
If the deal goes through, with various conditions around the minimum and maximum offers, the Sanlam Group will hold no less than 55% and no more than 60% of AfroCentric shares.
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“Through this transaction, Sanlam will be able to integrate Afrocentric’s product offering into its ecosystem, while AfroCentric will gain increased access to the wide Sanlam distribution network,” the two parties said in the joint statement. The companies have been working together for some time.
“AfroCentric’s client base will also benefit from access to the overall Sanlam product offering and vice versa.”
Sanlam’s share price fell almost 2% following the announcement, while AfroCentric share prices surged more than 25% to R5.25 by late morning on Tuesday.
Source: News 24
