Pepkor fined R5m for misleading investors
Pepkor kept a R15bn loan guarantee to its parent, Steinhoff, along with loans to senior management hidden from shareholders
The JSE gave Pepkor a public censure and a R5m fine on Monday morning for failing to tell its shareholders that it stood surety for R15bn of Steinhoff International’s debt and about loans to senior management. Pepkor issued a separate statement saying it “has acknowledged that inadequate disclosures were made during the process of its listing and the publication of its annual financial statements in 2017”. The JSE said that when the retail group — which recently changed its name to Pepkor from Steinhoff Africa Retail (Star) — issued its pre-listing statement on September 4 2017, two weeks before its initial public offering (IPO), it failed to disclose a number of things required by the JSE’s rules. The holding company of Pep Stores, the chain built by retail tycoon Christo Wiese, failed to tell investors it “formed part of a group of companies which unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed the Steinhoff Services Ltd R15bn domestic medium-term note programme”. Pepkor also failed to...
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