Nova board agrees to fairness opinion
Debenture holders accuse directors of deception in shareholding structure
The directors of Nova Property Group, which arose from the failed Sharemax scheme, have agreed to seek an independent "fairness opinion" on the structure of their proposal to list the group’s R2.25bn property portfolio on the JSE. Under pressure from angry debenture holders in Nova, the board said on Friday it would seek the opinion of independent auditors. This would give a view on whether Nova properties had been correctly valued and whether it is reasonable that Nova’s seven directors receive a 43.1% stake in the listed entity while 19,700 debenture holders receive 34.45%. Nova took on Sharemax’s property assets in 2012, after the Reserve Bank shut Sharemax for unlawfully taking deposits. By that time, about 20,000 people, most of whom would become debenture holders in Nova, had invested nearly R5bn into Sharemax properties. The debenture holders, most of them pensioners, met in Pretoria on Friday to debate the merits of a proposal to convert their debentures into shares in a new...
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