Marathon, management agree on this
Industrial Reporter
ALTHOUGH Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) shareholders are fighting among themselves on whether to delist the investment trust, both sides are optimistic on turning around E.tv, its only significant asset.
While minority shareholders London-based Marathon Asset Management, which holds just less than 24% of HCI, and Consilium Capital SA, which has 1% suffered a setback in losing the provisional vote to stop HCI from delisting, they still see real value in the television station.
The matter is not settled. The disgruntled minority shareholders applied on Monday for an interdict to stop some shareholders including the management consortium leading the call for delisting from voting on the issue at a special meeting earlier this week.
The free-to-air broadcaster has had a troubled existence, with HCI pumping millions of rand in during the past few years to keep it going.
Marathon analyst Jeremy Hosking has confidence in E.tv, saying the turnaround at the TV Station was progressing well. Although E.tv needed HCI cash injections in the past, Hosking said there were no immediate plans to put more money into the TV station.
Ironically, Hosking's view of E.tv's prospects echoed the view of the management consortium, led by CEO John Copelyn and chairman Marcel Golding. Copelyn said he was positive about E.tv's prospects in the medium to long term. This was in spite of HCI expecting to incur a R30m loss for this year.
Hosking said Marathon was surprised when the consortium proposed delisting earlier this year. Up until then Marathon had had a good relationship with HCI's management and was an active shareholder. This relationship had been tested and were going to be tested even further with the high court expected to declare its judgment early next month on whether the management consortium could have voted on delisting resolutions.
Hosking said the views of independent shareholders were totally ignored by management. He said if shares owned by HCI management were excluded from the vote, more than 70% of shareholders who voted rejected the delisting proposal.
About 53,5% of shareholders eligible to vote backed the delisting resolutions, with 46,4% against. A small number abstained.
Although the JSE Securities Exchange SA asked HCI's management not to vote, it did not order them not to. HCI's largest shareholder, the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union, which has a 46% stake, abstained from voting.
HCI proposed delisting after the repurchase of its shares reduced the group's share capital by about 73%, with almost all the institutional shareholders in the company being phased out.
HCI shares closed unchanged at 360c after no trade yesterday.
Jun 13 2003 06:10:22:000AM Larry Claasen Business Day 1st Edition
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
