If shareholders vote in favour of a R1.8 billion bid by Altron to buy minorities out of subsidiary Altech, the company will be delisted on 20 August.
Shareholders are set to meet on 26 July to vote on the offer of R47.50 for every Altech share. If enough shareholders oppose Altron's bid, this will require that the court be approached and asked to approve the scheme.
Altech shares closed slightly higher at R45.51 yesterday, a 24c gain, giving it a market capitalisation of R4.8 billion. The company notes in its statement to shareholders that Altech shareholders who acquire Altech shares after close of trade on 12 July will not be eligible to vote at the meeting.
Altron wants to take ownership of the subsidiary from 61.4% to 100% to remove any overlaps between businesses and build on its convergence strategy. Altech is Altron's largest revenue contributor, accounting for R10.4 billion in the year to February.
This is the second time Altron has made a buyout bid for Altech, after shareholders rejected an offer made five years ago. Towards the end of 2007, Altron put a R4.8 billion deal on the table for Altech and Bytes Technology Group minority shareholders to bring both companies into the fold.
Bytes has subsequently become an Altron subsidiary and is its third-largest contributor to revenue for the financial year that closed at the end of February. Since 2001, Altron has brought partly-owned subsidiaries back into the fold, reducing the amount of companies from 10 to two.
Altron CEO Robert Venter has said that bringing Altech into Altron would result in a new, flatter, structure, making it easier to align synergies between Bytes Group and Altech, which is a strategic aim.
Venter said there is a vast amount of convergence currently, and flattening the structure somewhat makes it easier for Bytes and Altech to take advantage of these opportunities.
Shareholders can take a cash pay-out, or up to 50% of the offer in Altron shares.
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