Pinnacle Holdings: RBC unit lifts stake to nearly 9%

RBC Investor Services Trust had increased its shareholding in Pinnacle Holdings, which is the subject of an investigation by the Financial Services Board (FSB), the software provider said yesterday. RBC Investor Services Trust, part of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), had raised its shareholding in Pinnacle to 8.956 percent as of April 30, Pinnacle said. The FSB confirmed last month that it had launched an inquiry into possible insider trading of Pinnacle shares prior to an announcement that a director, Takalani Tshivhase, was arrested in March and charged with attempting to offer a bribe to a senior police officer in exchange for a tender. He has denied the charges but stepped down from his position. Tshivhase, chief executive Arnold Fourie and another director sold shares equivalent to 1 percent of the company’s issued share capital before disclosing the charges. Pinnacle lost more than 40 percent in the days following the disclosure. Fourie and several family trusts have snapped up shares in the company since March. The shares gained 1.6 percent to close at R13.33 yesterday after closing at R13.12 on Friday. – Asha Speckman