Big deal for prominent communications infrastructure company in South Africa

Altron Nexus has signed transaction agreements to enable a management buyout from the Altron Group. Following the deal, the company will rebrand as Sentiv.

The transaction is subject to the fulfilment of conditions precedent, which the teams aim to close by the end of June 2025.

Altron Nexus is a critical communications infrastructure company with over 55 years of experience in designing, building, and managing secure communications networks across South Africa.

The name, Sentiv, is derived from a blend of “sentient” and “intuitive”. According to the team, it reflects the company’s evolution into a platform-led business.

Sentiv promises to empower customers with real-time insights, adaptive connectivity, and predictive intelligence.

Louis du Toit, Altron Nexus’ current managing director, and BriteGaze CEO Reshaad Sha are leading the buyout.

Du Toit will assume the role of Sentiv’s chief executive officer, while Sha will serve as executive chairman.

“Altron Nexus, now rebranded as Sentiv, has played a pivotal role in shaping South Africa’s mission-critical communications landscape for over half a century,” said Sha.

“From supporting the communications needs of police services and emergency responders to enabling disaster management and industrial operations, its legacy is deeply entrenched in the nation’s infrastructure.”

Sha said it was a privilege to lead a company with such a proud heritage. He also thanked the Altron Group for its support and partnership in the buyout.

Altron has been looking for a buyer for Altron Nexus since July 2023.

Altron Nexus suffered a setback in the past financial year when it was not awarded the contract to work on phase 3 of the Gauteng Broadband Network project after working on phases 1 and 2.

Altron Nexus was classified as an asset held for sale at the same time as Altron Document Solutions.

“These two entities contributed 21% to the Group’s revenue, however both subsidiaries were loss-making and therefore did not contribute to the group’s profit,” the company said in July 2023.

However, since then, the company announced that Altron Document Solutions would be incorporated back into the Altron Group.

It has also now found a buyer for Altron Nexus.