Cape Town - Chairman of the Sekunjalo Group Dr Iqbal Survé has welcomed the outcome of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and AYO Technology Solutions Limited court case after both parties agreed to a settlement.
Survé said “justice has prevailed” in the Western Cape High Court, after the asset manager, which controls over R1.6 trillion in government pensions, had sought to recoup a R4.3 billion investment it made in AYO – a deal it later claimed was unlawful.
The settlement was reached on Thursday after advocates for both sides left Judge Ashley Binns-Ward’s chambers shortly after 10am, saying only that the matter had been settled.
“We were always confident of our case and their own witnesses verified our version,” said Survé.
However, a “cordial” Survé said he was looking ahead to rebuilding AYO, which had “lost billions” and suffered “enormous damage” as a result of media coverage of the Mpati Commission of Inquiry’s report on impropriety at the PIC.
Since the report was published in 2020, several major banks had closed the accounts of entities in the Sekunjalo stable, citing fear of reputational damage based on the unfavourable media reports.
“Speaking as the chairman of Sekunjalo, as a shareholder, it’s very good that the other shareholder, the PIC, and ourselves can now turn our attention to growing the business. The settlement is a very good outcome for everybody,” said Survé.
He added: “It puts an end to the propaganda and disinformation campaign. And we welcome the opportunity that the court gave to present the facts, as opposed to all the slander and defamation from the detractors, who deliberately misled the public.“
The evidence that emerged in the high court case would “automatically” see the Mpati Commission report being set aside upon review, and force the banks to reconsider their position, said Survé.
On Friday, the PIC released a statement saying the resolution was in the best interests of their stakeholders and would give AYO a chance to create growth in the ICT sector.
An insider at the PIC, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that, in terms of the settlement, the PIC would retain 25% of AYO which will give it negative control of AYO and the ability to block special resolutions.
The source said the PIC had voted against some of the resolutions at AYO’s annual general meetings over the last few years, thus allowing the PIC to continue to exercise negative control of AYO.
Based on this information it appeared that the PIC, which had a shareholding of 30% in AYO, has sold back 5% to AYO and/or possibly AYO’s main investor, AEEI.
It could not be established what the price of the sale was and if it was at the current market price or at a higher price.
When approached for comment, AYO executives said that the terms of the settlement were confidential and other than the required JSE regulations they were not prepared to comment on the settlement outcome.
Cape Argus