Altron still after Altech

Johannesburg, 08 May 2008

Altron's bid to consolidate majority-owned Altech into its fold is not yet finished.

Yesterday, Altron CEO Robbie Venter revealed "nothing had changed" in its strategy to create one listed entry point to the group.

Since 2001, the group has brought partly-owned subsidiaries back into the fold, reducing the amount of companies from 10 to two. The only company still outstanding is Altech, led by Venter sibling Craig Venter.

In October last year, Altron proposed to Altech and Bytes Technology Group minority shareholders that a deal worth R4.8 billion be orchestrated to bring the two subsidiaries into the fold. This would be settled through a share swap the company put forward.

While Bytes shareholders agreed, Altech shareholders - primarily the Public Investment Corporation - declined the offer.

Increasing stake

Venter noted yesterday that the company had increased its stake in Altech to 62%, through the R187 million purchase of shares.

"At that price it was a good buy, we can still buy another 1.7% of Altech. But we are still looking at acquiring the whole company. In fact, we debated it in our board meeting yesterday. At this stage, there is nothing on the cards, but we continue to review our options," he explained.

Altron wants to consolidate its holding so that it can access and make best use of its resources. This includes Altech's R1.6 billion cash pile, which is financially incorporated into Altron's coffers, but effectively inaccessible by the company.