Shareholders approve scheme to delist Etion

January 4, 2023 Siyabonga Mtangana

Shareholders in technology group Etion have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a scheme to delist the company from the JSE ahead of a planned winding up of the business.

One hundred percent of shareholders who attended a virtual general meeting on Wednesday morning — and representing 54.1% of shares in the company — voted in favour of implementation of the scheme.

In November, Etion became the latest firm to announce plans to delist from the JSE. Its planned exit from the bourse comes at the same time as the imminent delisting of Alviva Holdings, the technology distribution group that is subject to a buyout by management and other investors.

Etion offered shareholders 55.58c/share as part of the scheme. The shares closed on Tuesday at 54c.

The delisting plan came after Etion offloaded various operating businesses, including Lawtrust and Etion Connect, as part of a “strategic plan to unlock shareholder value”. The company said in September that it would distribute the net proceeds of those sales to shareholders “in the most efficient manner”.

Agterskot

Following the delisting, Etion intends to make payment of agterskot (earn-out) amounts. The business will then be deregistered and wound up. The agterskot payments total a maximum aggregate amount of R17-million, less any tax payable by the company, it said in November.