MTN Zakhele has revealed that it plans to list its ordinary shares as BEE Securities on the BEE Segment of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on 5 November 2015.
MTN Zakhele, with a market capitalisation of R9 billion, will be the first broad-based black economic empowerment scheme to list on the JSE’s BEE Segment subsequent to the amendments made to the JSE Listings Requirements in respect of BEE Securities in July 2015. Outlining reasons for the listing, MTN Zakhele Chairperson Sindi Mabaso-Koyana said, “There has been a change in the FSB’s policy in relation to the regulation of all providers of over-the-counter (OTC) share trading platforms for facilitating trading in own shares. The JSE listing will provide shareholders with regulatory certainty for trading their MTN Zakhele shares.”
In order to facilitate the MTN Zakhele listing on the JSE it is necessary to amend the MTN Zakhele memorandum of incorporation to, amongst other things, make provision for the MTN Zakhele shares to be held in uncertificated form, as the JSE does not permit trading in certificated shares. An extraordinary general meeting of MTN Zakhele shareholders will be held on 29 September 2015 to approve necessary resolutions as a precursor to being able to list on the JSE. Shareholders are encouraged to attend and vote or send proxies as set out in the notice of general meeting to shareholders issued on 17 August 2015. The notice is also available on the website.
In preparation for listing on the JSE, and subject to the resolutions referred to above having been adopted by shareholders, the existing MTN Zakhele OTC share trading platform will cease to operate, and shareholders will be migrated onto a new system which will enable trading on the JSE platform. “There will be a brief disruption in trading prior to listing from 16 October 2015 to 5 November 2015 to enable, amongst other things, migration of shareholder data,” says Mabaso-Koyana. “All MTN Zakhele ordinary shareholders, whether they have registered previously for the OTC share trading platform or not, will need to be verified, and all shareholders who wish to use the new transaction platform to trade their shares in the JSE environment will need to register on the new transaction platform. Verification and registration of shareholders on the new transaction platform will be open from 26 October 2015.”
MTN Zakhele has identified service providers who will provide shareholders registered on the new transaction platform with trading, custody and settlement services. Shareholders will need to sign new trading and custody mandates with such service providers should they wish to use the new transaction platform. Shareholders will also be able to use their own service providers to trade their MTN Zakhele shares on the JSE, provided they have been verified by MTN Zakhele to trade MTN Zakhele shares in this manner.
Mabaso-Koyana says that MTN Zakhele has worked closely with the JSE to meet key milestones in order to facilitate a listing on the amended JSE BEE Segment. “The BEE vehicles require certainty about the black ownership of their shares so it has been necessary to modify listings requirements,” says Mabaso-Koyana. “Our shareholders are largely individuals who trade in small volumes, so it was important to continue to facilitate access to trading on the JSE through familiar platforms. Importantly, after the JSE listing, shareholders will continue to be able to submit buy and sell orders through the existing methods, being the MTN Zakhele Call Centre and the Website.”
Staff Writer
