Altron goes ahead with separation of UK subsidiary

DURBAN – Allied Electronics Corporation (Altron) is forging ahead with the potential separation and listing of its UK subsidiary, Bytes Technology Group (Bytes UK), on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE. 

Bytes UK delivers the latest technology to a diverse customer base, with proven expertise in cloud, infrastructure and security. Bytes UK expects the admission to take place in the fourth quarter of the 2020 financial year, but is subject to market conditions. 

The technology group said yesterday that the Bytes UK management team, led by its chief executive, Neil Murphy, would be conducting meetings with a number of institutions in the next coming days in connection with the listing of Bytes UK on the two stock exchanges. 

Altron chief executive Mteto Nyati said during the group’s full-year results presentation in May that as part of its strategic review, the board had assessed each of the business units within the group to identify opportunities which have the potential to unlock further value for shareholders and to streamline operations. 

The Altron board concluded that the true value of Bytes UK was not reflected in the company’s share price as the business had increasingly developed a growth trajectory and strategic levers that were different to the rest of the group and operated in a different geographical capital market with a highly rated peer group.