Shareholders of Phuthuma Nathi, MultiChoice’s empowerment scheme, voted in favor of a proposal to exchange 20% of the shares in this scheme for MultiChoice ordinary shares.
Mandla Langa, chairman of Phuthuma Nathi (PN), said in a statement that this step is widely welcomed and gives members of the empowerment scheme a larger stake in MultiChoice.
The company, which listed separately on the JSE earlier this year, has already increased its scheme’s stake at no cost to shareholders from 20% to 25%.
According to MultiChoice, the exchange of PN shares for MultiChoice shares will give shareholders greater exposure to the company’s operations in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent.
MultiChoice also runs the showmax streaming service and the Irdeto service provider.
PN shareholders have until the end of the month to exchange up to 20% of their PN shares for MultiChoice shares on a voluntary basis.
MultiChoice traded 0.06% lower at R118.57 on Monday afternoon.
The company is going to issue new shares to those participating in the exchange scheme.
MultiChoice also paid a generous dividend of R1.5 billion to PN shareholders last month. This is 13.6% more than a year ago
The 5% increase in shareholding led to a sharp increase in the dividend paid.
MultiChoice considers Phuthuma Nathi one of the “most successful black empowerment schemes in South Africa.”
