Cape Empowerment Trust (CET) has unconditionally acquired about 25% of JSE-listed Conlog Holdings for just more than R16.2 million in cash.
CET has nominated three new directors to the Conlog Holdings Board - Shaun Rai as chairman, Barry Havenga as CEO and Allen Pheiffer as financial director.
Rai is CET`s chairman and CE, while Havenga and Pheiffer are from CET subsidiary Intella Holdings.
Conlog Holdings announced announced last week that it had agreed to sell its last operating business, Conlog, to Merlin Gerin, a subsidiary of France`s Schneider Electronic Industries, for R88 million.
Conlog said the sale was made to eliminate group debt. Previously it sold Satellite Data Networks for a nominal R2 000 to UUNet SA to free itself from contingent liabilities of R42.5 million.
Conlog posted an attributable loss of R61.04 million for the 16 months to December.
The agreement is still subject to Conlog Holdings board approval, and the reconstituted Conlog Holdings board will evaluate the agreement.
CET says the acquisition will not result in CET or any part with which it is directly or indirectly associated controlling in excess of 34.9% of the equity in Conlog Holdings or in controlling its board of directors.
Conlog specialises in designing and manufacturing prepaid electricity, water and solar metering and revenue management systems, and CET says it has the largest installed base of prepaid utility meters in southern Africa.
"CET is expanding its mass market transactional solutions and the acquisition will enable CET to include prepaid solutions in its existing suite of products and to introduce its products to CHL`s [Conlog Holdings Limited`s] large client base."
CET has said it intends to change its name and transfer its listing to the IT sector.
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