Mustek’s share price rose about 3% on Wednesday as the technology group said its full-year earnings could be a tenth higher compared with the previous year.
Valued at R793m 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.
On Wednesday, the group said it expected to report headline earnings per share (HEPS), which strip out the effect of one-off financial events, up to 10% higher for the year to end-June. This translates to HEPS of 67.13c-73.84c.
Net asset value per share is expected to be 2,840c-2,875c, compared with 2,801.15c previously.
In afternoon trade, Mustek shares were 2.91% firmer at R13.79. A thinly traded security, the share is down 9.34% since the start of the year.
This comes while the takeover of Mustek by Novus has been put on hold.
While the Competition Commission and Competition Tribunal approved the deal subject to certain conditions, the takeover regulation panel has created a major hurdle.
In April, Novus filed an urgent court application to set aside a decision by the takeover regulation panel to withdraw its approval for the printing and packaging company’s mandatory offer for Mustek.
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.
Initially, the panel approved Novus’ firm intention on November 15 but on February 24 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 commission endorsed the proposed takeover in February despite the panel’s 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.
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