Caxton offers to buy out small investors

Caxton and CTP Publishers is offering to buy out all investors with fewer than 100 shares to reduce administrative costs.

The company has 5,498 registered ordinary shareholders, of whom 1,778, or just over 32% of the total, hold fewer than 100 shares. These investors, referred to as odd lot holders, together hold about 24,116 shares which constitute 0.27% of the group’s issued share capital.

"To reduce the substantial recurring costs of administration associated with the odd lot holders, the directors of Caxton propose the implementation of an offer to the odd lot holders,” the company said in a statement on Friday

Qualifying shareholders can elect either to sell their shares to the company at the odd lot offer price or retain their shares.

The offer price will be calculated based the volume-weighted average traded price of Caxton shares over the 30 trading days preceding May 23 2025 plus a 20% premium.

“If an odd lot holder does not elect either of the cash alternative or the retention alternative, such odd lot holder will be deemed to have accepted the cash alternative,” Caxton said.

Implementation of the odd lot offer requires the approval of the necessary special and ordinary resolutions at a general meeting of shareholders, set for May 23.

The company publishes a host of community newspapers and the national daily The Citizen, but in recent years has branched out into packaging, digital assets and stationery.

Caxton shares closed unchanged at R12 on the JSE on Friday, valuing the publishing group at R4.26bn.

gavazam@businesslive.co.za