Sizwe Africa IT Group sells Cyberantrix business to Mustek for R20m
The Ayo Technology Solutions’ subsidiary has signed a deal to sell its cybersecurity business
09 October 2024 - 08:25
by Mudiwa Gavaza
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Ayo Technology Solutions’ subsidiary Sizwe Africa IT Group has signed a deal to sell its Cyberantrix business to Mustek for R20m.
In a note to investors, Ayo said Sizwe, its indirect 55%-owned subsidiary, had entered into a sale dated September 17 with Mustek and Cyberantix for the sale of Sizwe’s 70% interest in the issued share capital of Cyberantrix.
The agreement includes all shareholder claims on the loan account or otherwise held by Sizwe against Cyberantix, as one indivisible transaction, for a total consideration of R20m.
The total consideration is broken down into R8m for Sizwe shares and R12m in respect of the claims.
The directors of Sizwe are Amit Makan and Pride Guzha, who are directors of Ayo, and Shabana Ebrahim, a director of Mustek.
Cyberantix is a cybersecurity business that provides security operations solutions for SMEs, mid-sized corporations, government and larger enterprises. While the business has growth potential, Ayo said this was expected over the medium to long term and would require further investment to become fully scalable.
“The majority of Cyberantix’s clients are not aligned to the Sizwe group’s strategic priorities. As a result, management believes it would be more advantageous to partner with an already existing scaled cybersecurity company capable of executing the larger projects currently undertaken by the company.”
Mustek, valued at about R806m on the JSE, is an assembler and distributor of ICT products. It was established in 1987 and listed in 1997. The bulk of its revenue comes from sales of hardware brands, including Acer, ASUS, Samsung and Lenovo.
The remaining 30% interest in Cyberantix is owned by NIL Data Africa, which is not related to Ayo or any of its subsidiaries.
Funds generated from the disposal would be earmarked for “other strategic priorities within the company”. Sizwe is actively engaging with cybersecurity partners in the market with the aim of securing a partnership by the end of 2024.
Cyberantix is also involved in advanced cybersecurity disciplines such as forensics, security engineering and red-blue teaming.
Over the years, controversy has surrounded Ayo.
Earlier in 2024, Ayo and African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI), another company associated with business person Iqbal Survé, came close to having their shares suspended from the JSE after both failed to release their annual reports within the prescribed period.
Ayo courted public attention when it was fined R1.5m about a year ago by the JSE for lack of transparency. At the time, the JSE said Ayo had failed to publicly disclose money that was moved between related companies. The fine related to Ayo, its holding company and major shareholder AEEI and transactions with asset manager 3 Laws Capital.
Ayo’s reputation was also sullied when the Mpati commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) showed in 2020 that the asset manager’s subscription of shares in Ayo was grossly overvalued. The PIC and Ayo have since resolved the matter.
In mid-2023, AEEI unbundled its 49.36% stake in Ayo.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Sizwe Africa IT Group sells Cyberantrix business to Mustek for R20m
The Ayo Technology Solutions’ subsidiary has signed a deal to sell its cybersecurity business
Ayo Technology Solutions’ subsidiary Sizwe Africa IT Group has signed a deal to sell its Cyberantrix business to Mustek for R20m.
In a note to investors, Ayo said Sizwe, its indirect 55%-owned subsidiary, had entered into a sale dated September 17 with Mustek and Cyberantix for the sale of Sizwe’s 70% interest in the issued share capital of Cyberantrix.
The agreement includes all shareholder claims on the loan account or otherwise held by Sizwe against Cyberantix, as one indivisible transaction, for a total consideration of R20m.
The total consideration is broken down into R8m for Sizwe shares and R12m in respect of the claims.
The directors of Sizwe are Amit Makan and Pride Guzha, who are directors of Ayo, and Shabana Ebrahim, a director of Mustek.
Cyberantix is a cybersecurity business that provides security operations solutions for SMEs, mid-sized corporations, government and larger enterprises. While the business has growth potential, Ayo said this was expected over the medium to long term and would require further investment to become fully scalable.
“The majority of Cyberantix’s clients are not aligned to the Sizwe group’s strategic priorities. As a result, management believes it would be more advantageous to partner with an already existing scaled cybersecurity company capable of executing the larger projects currently undertaken by the company.”
Mustek, valued at about R806m on the JSE, is an assembler and distributor of ICT products. It was established in 1987 and listed in 1997. The bulk of its revenue comes from sales of hardware brands, including Acer, ASUS, Samsung and Lenovo.
The remaining 30% interest in Cyberantix is owned by NIL Data Africa, which is not related to Ayo or any of its subsidiaries.
Funds generated from the disposal would be earmarked for “other strategic priorities within the company”. Sizwe is actively engaging with cybersecurity partners in the market with the aim of securing a partnership by the end of 2024.
Cyberantix is also involved in advanced cybersecurity disciplines such as forensics, security engineering and red-blue teaming.
Over the years, controversy has surrounded Ayo.
Earlier in 2024, Ayo and African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI), another company associated with business person Iqbal Survé, came close to having their shares suspended from the JSE after both failed to release their annual reports within the prescribed period.
Ayo courted public attention when it was fined R1.5m about a year ago by the JSE for lack of transparency. At the time, the JSE said Ayo had failed to publicly disclose money that was moved between related companies. The fine related to Ayo, its holding company and major shareholder AEEI and transactions with asset manager 3 Laws Capital.
Ayo’s reputation was also sullied when the Mpati commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) showed in 2020 that the asset manager’s subscription of shares in Ayo was grossly overvalued. The PIC and Ayo have since resolved the matter.
In mid-2023, AEEI unbundled its 49.36% stake in Ayo.
gavazam@businesslive.co.za
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