MultiChoice: the money channel
Potential exists for BEE shares to double in value — despite the lock-in clause
Investors in MultiChoice’s BEE scheme, Phuthuma Nathi, were the big early winners of Naspers’s decision to unbundle the video entertainment group, as those shares shot up 44% immediately after the announcement. Phuthuma Nathi holds 20% of MultiChoice’s SA operations, which are believed to account for around 90% of the group’s total earnings. JPMorgan has estimated MultiChoice’s value at $8bn — which would make the Phuthuma Nathi shares worth around R265 apiece, more than double their current value of R115. Naspers has undertaken to increase the BEE stake to 25%, by topping up existing shareholders. The Phuthuma Nathi shares trade on the Singular Systems platform, which is authorised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority but is not a licensed stock exchange. This means investors aren’t allowed to hold cash in their accounts for more than seven days. Only those Phuthuma Nathi investors lucky enough to have had cash in their accounts within this seven-day period were able to respon...
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