Metrofile’s pending takeover by a US investment firm and a group of wealthy individuals has been delayed by regulatory processes.
In late March, the document specialist group informed the market of a bid by an unnamed suitor to buy the company and that it had constituted an independent board to consider the offer, in a sign that the group is seriously considering it.
On Monday, the group said discussions with Main Street 2093, a special purpose vehicle through which the potential transaction would be implemented, “continue to progress and remain at an advanced stage, though the timeline has been extended due to regulatory engagements”.
The group delivered a disappointing overall performance for the full year, despite strong growth in cloud services.
Headwinds in the rest of Africa and the Middle East notwithstanding, strategic initiatives and leadership changes supported operational improvements. Robust cash generation enabled further deleveraging of the balance sheet.
Main Street 2093 is held by a newly incorporated holding company in Delaware, which shareholding is currently held by WndrCo, one James Simmons and his family and “selected high net worth individuals”.
This comes as Metrofile reported a disappointing set of annual results to June 2025.
“The group delivered a disappointing overall performance for the full year, notwithstanding the continued recovery of MRM SA and strong growth in cloud services,” the company said in a note to investors.
“Despite headwinds in the rest of Africa and the Middle East, strategic initiatives and leadership changes supported operational improvements. Robust cash generation enabled further deleveraging of the balance sheet.”
Revenue for the period decreased by 7% to R1.07bn, mainly due to the reduction in product sales after the exit of Tidy Files’ manufacturing operation. The group notes that demand for cloud services remained strong and now contributes 34% of digital services revenue, from 32% in the prior year.
The group said secure storage contributed 60% to revenue and was up 2% “mainly as a result of price increases as well as additional revenue generated from paper services”.
Revenue in the rest of Africa — Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique — was up marginally to R105m from R104m previously, with operating profit plunging 73% to R11m, due to the inclusion in the prior year of a one-off gain after the positive resolution of a long-standing dispute with a customer in Kenya. The company also incurred higher cloud-related costs in Kenya.
The group’s operations in the Middle East — comprising the UAE and Oman — saw a slowdown in its project pipeline. Revenue for the period was up to R121m from R120m, ending the period with an operating loss of R5m, compared with R2m previously due to “continued challenges on margins”.
Overall, headline earnings per share (HEPS) — stripping out the impact of one-off financial events — decreased 20% to 13.3c, while normalised HEPS declined 19% to 16.2c.
Metrofile cut its dividend by 71% for the year, having chosen not to declare a payout for the second half of the year.
The group has been listed on the JSE since 1995, with empowerment partner Mineworkers Investment Company being one of its largest shareholders.
Valued at R1.15bn on the JSE, the group operates from 70 facilities and provides records and information management services in SA, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique and the Middle East, with SA accounting for more than half of its revenue.
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