The biggest deal in the history of the South African IT distribution channel, and indeed the local IT industry, could be on the cards if a proposal by a consortium to buy Alviva gets the go-ahead from shareholders.
In a SENS announcement this afternoon, the country’s biggest distribution group says it has “received an expression of interest (EOI) from a consortium of investors consisting of Tham Investments and DY Investments 3 in relation to its proposed acquisition of all of the issued share capital of Alviva not owned by the consortium.
“The consortium has also invited key management of Alviva to participate in the proposed transaction as part of the consortium and, following release of this announcement, will commence with discussions in that regard.”
Tham and DY already hold an 18,6% shareholding in Alviva and, if their proposal to pay R25 per share for the remaining 81,4% is accepted, the value of the deal would be in the region of R2,4-billion.
Funding for the deal would be provided by Absa Bank “subject to a firm intention offer which is still subject to the fulfilment of various conditions”.
If the deal is successful, the company would look to delist from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
“The proposed transaction will result in Alviva becoming a majority black-owned, privately-held, ICT champion, repositioning the company to drive the strategic direction of the business for future growth and expansion, and also allows Alviva shareholders to exit for a cash consideration that is at a premium to the closing price of R19.50 as at 24 June 2022,” the SENS statement adds.