There are low-profile people, but Terry Moolman is a no-profile person. His lack of profile is surprising, though, given the fact that he is one of the country’s leading media barons.
Moolman is the controlling shareholder at JSE-listed Caxton, which is best known as a knock-and-drop publisher, but also owns titles such as The Citizen and printing presses that help make up its R7-billion market value.
Moolman is in the news because it is speculated that he, in alliance with oligarchs Cyril Ramaphosa, Patrice Motsepe and Tokyo Sexwale, is mounting a takeover bid of Johncom, the owner of sprawling media interests, including the Sunday Times.
Moolman never grants interviews. For many years there were no available photographs of him. A request by the Mail & Guardian to photograph him was met with the response: “We do not have a photograph of our CEO.”
Moolman’s vision is seen to be to merge Caxton’s strength in printing with Johncom’s in publishing.
Johncom chief executive Connie Molusi’s sudden, inexplicable departure from Johncom this week is seen to be possibly linked with a bid by Moolman to merge the companies with him in the top job.
Caxton does spectacularly well. The group now has a turnover of R2billion, according to its six-month results to December last year. Net profit was up 33%, to R195million.
Moolman is the group’s controlling shareholder. Johncom has a 36% stake in Caxton. Moolman reportedly also has the right to buy back that share should Johncom have a change in ownership, which is why he is a critical player in Johncom’s search for a black economic empowerment (BEE) deal.
Following Johnnic’s unbundling in 2004, BEE has become a critical priority for Johncom, whose empowerment shareholding is now at less than 10%.
The empowerment deal speculated to be in the offing would have seen a merger between Johncom and Caxton, possibly with Moolman taking executive control of the new entity.
Molusi has reportedly clashed with Johncom chairman Mashudu Ramano over the group’s empowerment strategy. At the heart of Molusi’s dispute with Ramano, according to media reports, is Johncom’s lucrative printing contracts. A long-term printing contract with Independent Newspapers has expired, but is being rolled over. Moolman is reportedly irritated by the delay in sending the bulk of Johncom’s printing business to Caxton, Business Day reported. The printing contracts would include the Sunday Times — desirable business indeed. As Business Report wryly commented, Moolman himself appears to be the chief beneficiary of any such “empowerment” deal.
Moolman has been synony-mous with Caxton since 1978, when he and Noel Coburn took control of the company and became the new managing directors. Caxton had an annual turnover of R2million; a decade later, its turnover was R800million.
Between 1985 and 1987, Caxton acquired several important assets: CTP (Cape and Transvaal Printers), a printing company worth R100million, two more printing companies, and Solchem, a supplier of newspaper ink.
The next big acquisition came in 1998, when Caxton merged with Pers-kor and took over The Citizen.
Caxton has a cash pile of R1billion to make its presence felt.
The group’s last acquisition was a 30% interest in magazine publishers Ramsay, Son & Parker — which owns brands Getaway, CAR and Popular Mechanics — in January this year.
In 1999, rumours of an impending partnership between Nail (New Africa Investments Limited) and Caxton again came to nothing. Nail’s flagship asset, the Sowetan, instead went to Johncom.
Retiring he may be, but Moolman’s possible involvement will be closely watched by many, not least Johncom’s journalists, who will know that Moolman is used to running operations, and particularly journalists’ salaries, on a shoestring.