JOHANNESBURG - JSE-listed information and communications technology company Datatec said yesterday that it would immediately cancel its secondary listing from the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM).
Datatec first announced its intention to delist from AIM on October 24, but it said it would keep its primary listing on the JSE.
“The primary listing of Datatec shares on the JSE will continue and is not affected by the cancellation of the AIM listing,” the group said.
The group said that the shares held by existing shareholders on the Jersey register on December 8, including those of shareholders who were previously DI holders in Crest, would be transferred from the Computershare UK nominee
account on the Jersey register to a Computershare South African custodian account on the main (South Africa) register, in the respective shareholder’s name.
Peter Takaendesa, a portfolio manager at Mergence Investment Managers, said the move by Datatec was in line with the earlier announcement in October.
“Our view is that the de-listing is appropriate now as Datatec does not require a capital raise post receiving over $630million (R8.51bn) in cash proceeds from selling part of Westcon to Synnex Corp,” Takaendesa said.
Datatec sold Westcon-Comstor’s businesses in North America and Latin America (Westcon Americas), as of September 1, and a 10percent interest in the remaining part of Westcon-Comstor (Westcon International) to Synnex Corporation for $630m in cash, with the potential for an earn-out of up to $200m in cash.
Takaendesa added that Datatec was in the process of returning excess cash of R23 a share in dividends to shareholders.
Explaining the reasons behind the decision to delist in London, Takaendesa said the AIM listing failed to deliver the intended benefits, as most foreign shareholders preferred to get exposure to Datatec shares through the more liquid primary listing the JSE.
“The LSE is also quite restrictive on timelines of merger and acquisitions (M&A) actions, while Datatec is in the process of reshaping its portfolio of assets,” he said.
In the six months to the end of September, the group reported total revenue, including revenue of the disposed operations of $2.99bn compared with $3.04bn, while combined earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was $39.3m compared with $68.9m reported last year.
Underlying earnings per share was 1.4 US cents during the period compared to 12.5 US cents reported a year earlier.
Datatec shares fell 1percent to close at R54.30 on the JSE yesterday.