AST Group shareholders are to meet next month to vote on the company`s proposed black economic empowerment deal and change of name.
If approved, subsidiary AST-A will acquire certain IT businesses and interests from various Gijima subsidiaries for the issue of about 308.76 million AST shares at 35c a share, amounting to about R108.07 million.
The group is also planning to recapitalise its balance sheet through a partially underwritten rights offer for R160 million, of which R116.75 million is to be underwritten.
AST told shareholders at the weekend that independent adviser KPMG Services has reported to the board that it considers the resolutions to be proposed at the meeting to be fair and reasonable to shareholders.
The meeting is scheduled for 14 March.
If the deal is implemented, AST will change its name to Gijima AST Group.
CEO John Miller said in March that the group was turning its attention to empowerment only then because it had needed to show some progress in its turnaround programme before considering an empowerment deal.
The turnaround programme saw the group cut staff numbers from 3 662 in December 2002 to 3 061 last year. AST also disposed of various non-core operations and restructured into a single business entity.
Miller said in September that most of the turnaround programme`s benefits would be evident only in the year to June 2005 and onwards.
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