iBurst Africa does not expect to make an appearance on the Johannesburg bourse within the next year.
The company, which has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique, was expected to list in the middle of last year. iBurst Africa then pushed the date out to November due to the volatile rand.
Chairman Thami Mtshali says the company will not list “within the next 12 months”. He explains that the market is not favourable for a listing, and its shares would be undervalued due to the current economic conditions.
The company also intends cementing its roll out in its current African markets before moving into other countries on the continent. Mtshali says the company is focusing on the markets in which it has a presence and wants to “get the formula right”.
Rolling out in Africa, which has a legacy of bad infrastructure, has “been a painful learning experience for us,” he says.
iBurst Africa had aimed to reverse list into the S&J Land Holdings cash shell*. However, the JSE said on Friday that its listing would be terminated from 26 April because it had not acquired any assets, which is a requirement for remaining on the bourse.
Mtshali says the termination of the S&J listing is not a concern, as there are “so many shells on the JSE, we can always pick another”. The listing was set to be worth around R2 billion.
* A cash shell is a listed company that owns only cash or shares as it has disposed of all, or a substantial part, of its business. It is a possible vehicle for other companies to list through as it is already present on the JSE.
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