FREE TO READ: Sagarmatha: a stillborn unicorn
Its listing drew scorn, but does the investor community understand its business model? And should they have faith in it?
Sagarmatha Technologies, and its media partners, including Business Report, may have a point when they say SA investors are still coming to terms with the concept of a multisided platform (MSP) business model. Sagarmatha controls African News Agency, online retailer Loot, Independent Online and Sagarmatha Enterprise Solutions. Proceeds from the group’s failed listing would have been used to buy Sekunjalo Independent Media, which controls Independent Newspapers. Before its listing on the JSE was scuppered by its failure to submit financial statements on time, Sagarmatha was eyeing a market valuation of R49.7bn, which would have thrust it firmly into the JSE’s top 40 index. However, those lofty ambitions drew scorn from the investment community and the media, though Iqbal Survé-led Sagarmatha and its allies hit back, saying its business model was misunderstood. "It is apparent that there is a general lack of understanding around MSPs in SA," Business Report said shortly after Sagarmat...
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