ALISTER BULL, Johannesburg | Monday 5.00pm
SHARES in Standard Bank Investment Corp (Stanbic) and Nedcor slid on Monday as investors toed a cautious line ahead of Tuesday’s expected court hearing on their merger battle.
Stanbic wants the High Court to decide which regulatory authority has jurisdiction to rule on whether Nedcor be allowed to make an offer to Stanbic’s shareholders.
Stanbic believes that the Competition Commission — as well as the central bank — must bless a takeover which would create the largest banking group on the continent with assets in the region of R300-billion.
”The Commission agrees with us that they have jurisdiction. The Registrar of Banks opposes this view and the court case has been brought to get clarification on the issue,” Standard Bank chief executive Jacko Maree said.
Stanbic lawyers hope to present the case in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, but warn that the matter may not get underway on that day.
They expect four days of hearings, followed by a reserved judgement, with a ruling handed down within two weeks — indicating a showdown in mid-February.
Nedcor has said it would offer one of its shares for every 5,5 shares in Stanbic and invoked the national interest in its pitch to regulators and Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel, who could well have the final say in the matter.
Nedcor, which enjoys the highest bourse rating among the country’s four big banks, says that South Africa needs a new financial champion to face mounting foreign competition.
But Stanbic claims that its rival is trying to buy it on the cheap and insists that it has a brighter solo future. — Reuters