DA questions PIC blocking Altron deal
According to the DA's Kobus Marais, the PIC should be reminded that the funds that it uses to engage in so-called "shareholder activism" may be vested with government, but they belong to taxpayers who expect a maximum return on their investment.
"Any moves by the PIC – from its decisions on which shares to invest in, when to buy and when to sell, and who it forces company executives to appoint as board members – should be based on ensuring this outcome," Marais said.
Business Day reported that the PIC blocked Altron's plans to buy out minority shares and quoted PIC chief executive Brian Molefe as saying the deal snatched back voting rights. "We already have concerns about Altron from a corporate governance point of view," he said.
"They are overloaded with executive directors and their board isn't transformed."
But Marais insists: "Unless there are obvious signs that able incumbents are being shunned for board appointments on the basis of their race and that this is affecting the profitability of the companies in which it holds shares, the PIC has no business to intervene.
"If proof does not exist that Altron applies racial discrimination in making board appointments, then the only reason that the PIC could have had to reject Altron's offer for Altech minorities is that the 29% premium that it represented was insufficient to ensure a maximum return on the PIC's investment."
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