PIC says it will recover R4.3bn investment in Ayo
As it was already engaged in a process to recover the money, the Public Investment Corporation approached the court to ensure that it is not in breach of the Companies Act
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) says it has asked a court to set aside the compliance notice it received from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) ordering it to recover the R4.3bn it invested in Ayo Technologies. It also says, however, that it is taking steps to recover the investment from Ayo — a process that was already under way before the compliance notice was received and agrees completely with the CIPC that its losses must be recovered. The investment in Ayo, which was made in December 2017, is under scrutiny by the Mpati Commission of Inquiry into the PIC. At the time, it was considered suspicious because of the extraordinarily high valuation placed on the Ayo shares. It bought a 29% stake in the company at R43 a share, implying a valuation of R14.8bn. But a few months before financial statements showed that Ayo had total assets of R292m and a book value of R67m. Since then the share has traded far below the original valuation. This valuation, wh...
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