CompaniesPREMIUM

OneLogix gears up for JSE exit

Management consortium set to acquire the entire issued share capital of the company

Picture: SUPPLIED
Picture: SUPPLIED

OneLogix, whose interests include logistics and supply chain management, is making headway in its plans to delist from the JSE, announcing on Friday it had received the green light from the Takeover Panel and fulfilled all conditions to allow for a management consortium to acquire the entire issued share capital of OneLogix.

OneLogix closed trading on Friday at R3.27 per share on the JSE, recording a 0.6% drop from its previous closing price of R3.29.

Competing with the likes of Super Group, Transpaco and Grindrod in the gruelling industrial transportation market, OneLogix’s board has for some time been mulling over delisting saying that in recent years, share trading statistics indicated that the source of liquidity available to shareholders wishing to trade their shares was via general repurchase programmes arranged by the company.

Highlighting that the main shareholder now holds 34.84% of the shares in the company (and so restricting further share repurchases), the board said it believes that the company derives limited value from its listing with the primary benefits — like share liquidity and the ability to raise capital — now constrained.

“Trade in the company’s shares has been characterised by extremely low liquidity, primarily due to the majority of its shares being held by non-public shareholders, approximating 58% of the issued share capital,” OneLogix said previously.

“This represents a high concentration of strategic shareholdings in the company resulting in a low free float and a shareholder profile consisting of a substantial number of small shareholders.”

In August last year OneLogix CEO Ian Lourens told Business Day that it was becoming tougher to run a logistics operation in SA owing to rising costs hitting amid a value chain that was simply unable to absorb the increases.

OneLogix has said a delisting would also enable management to dedicate more time and resources to their business operations without having to spend considerable time, expenses and resources dealing with the regulatory processes associated with being a listed entity.

In October last year OneLogix entered into an arrangement with Bidco — a vehicle formed by key members of the executive management team to acquire the entire issued share capital of OneLogix at R3.30 a share. This will result in the delisting of OneLogix from the JSE.

OneLogix argued the proposed transaction represents an attractive opportunity and an exit mechanism for shareholders to realise their investment at a significant premium in an illiquid share.

On Friday, OneLogix pointed out that after receiving the compliance certificate from the Takeover Panel all scheme conditions had been fulfilled.

According to a timeline set out by the scheme, the termination of the listing of OneLogix shares on the JSE is expected to be on February 21.

With a market capitalisation of R856m, Johannesburg-based OneLogix was first listed on the main board of the JSE in 2000. It counts Best-Krug Saco, Kagiso Capital, OLG Esizayo and Allan Gray among its largest shareholders.

gumedemi@businesslive.co.za

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