AEEI tumbles amid call for JSE to suspend its shares
Independent analyst Anthony Clark says the JSE should consider suspending African Equity Empowerment Investments’ shares after a report by the Sunday Times revealed that ‘many were misled’
The market value of Sekunjalo’s JSE-listed investment vehicle, African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI), fell by a quarter last week amid a call for the stock to be suspended. In early February, the Sunday Times published an audio recording of a meeting in which Sekunjalo chair Iqbal Surve said he was withholding information from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) about why a transaction between companies under his control had fallen through. The PIC controversially invested R4.3bn in Ayo Technology Solutions in December 2017, partly on the premise that Ayo would then use R1bn of that cash to buy AEEI’s 30% stake in British Telecom’s (BT’s) SA business. Ayo is 49.4% owned by AEEI, which in turn is 61.5% held by Surve’s Sekunjalo. The deal was never completed, however, as BT did not consent to it. At the secretly recorded meeting in August 2018, Surve said he had spoken to former PIC boss Dan Matjila about why the BT deal had collapsed, but that he had not given “100% of th...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.