Novus has filed an urgent court application to set aside a decision by the takeover regulation panel (TRP) to withdraw its approval for the printing and packaging company’s mandatory offer for Mustek.
In November, Novus said it would make a mandatory offer for Mustek after its stake reached 35% as required by the Companies Act.
In a note to investors on Friday, Mustek said: “Novus has informed Mustek that on April 1 Novus filed an urgent application in the high court to set aside the TRP’s ruling on the grounds that it is unlawful and unconstitutional.”
The proposed date for the matter to be heard is April 22. The court application comes a week after Novus was ordered to publish a revised firm intention announcement within 20 business days.
Novus, one of SA’s largest print production and manufacturing operators, is offering R13 per Mustek share, or R7 cash plus one Novus share, or two Novus shares for each Mustek share.
Valued at R857m on the JSE, Mustek is an assembler and distributor of ICT products. The company was established in 1987, with its brand portfolio including Acer, Asus, Samsung and Lenovo.
Initially, the TRP approved Novus’ firm intention on November 15 2024, but on February 24 2025 it ruled that the DK Trust — Mustek’s biggest shareholder — acted in concert with Novus during the transaction, and withdrew its approval.
The DK Trust represents the interests of Mustek founder David Kan, who died in May 2022.
The Competition Commission endorsed the proposed takeover in February despite the TRP ruling. It found no evidence that the transaction would substantially lessen competition in related markets and highlighted public interest conditions aimed at protecting jobs. These include a two-year moratorium on retrenchments and preferential employment conditions for employees retrenched by Mustek before the merger.
With Lindiwe Tsobo
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