/ 1 March 2000

Nail rises on restructuring approval

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 12.30pm

SHARES in New Africa Investments Limited (Nail) firmed on Wednesday after shareholders on Tuesday voted for a proposed radical restructuring of the black empowerment group.

Shareholders ignored a lone crusade by a former director to derail it the restructuring, voting overwhelmingly in favour of Nail’s plans to unbundle its two heavyweight banking interests, African Bank Investments Limited and AMB Holdings, in a move that will slash the company’s asset base in half.

The major restructuring had been expected to get stakeholder support despite a last-ditch effort to halt it by co-founder and former Nail director Jonty Sandler, who argued that it would destroy a successful business and damage black advancement.

Nail last year announced it would dispose of non-core assets, spin off its media business into a new company and hand back R400-million in a bid to boost flagging shareholder confidence following a share option scandal. Nail has said it wants to transform itself from a broad, passive investment vehicle to a slimmer, hands-on business focused on its core insurance unit, Metropolitan Life. ”Black South Africans in particular have to soil their hands, manage companies and learn to create value at the rock face,” Moseneke said.

Sandler last week paid for two large advertisements in the country’s leading business daily in an attempt to convince shareholders to scupper the revamp.

He, along with another director Ntatho Motlana, quit last year amid a boardroom row over plans by management to enrich themselves in a multi-million rand share option scheme. The scheme was later abandoned. — Reuters