Altech minorities vote in favour of transaction

The minority shareholders of Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) today voted in favour of a transaction where Allied Electronics Corporation Limited (Altron) will buy the remaining shares in Altech which it does not already own.  Altron, which currently owns 61% of Altech, will buy the remaining 39% of Altech shares from its minority shareholders and delist Altech from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).  In order for the transaction to be approved by special resolution, a minimum of 75% of the minority shareholders had to vote in favour of the transaction.  Altron as majority shareholder did not vote at the Scheme meeting. It is expected that the transaction will result in a more investor friendly structure for the Altron group with only a single JSE listed entry point.  It will also achieve more efficient capital allocation within the group and further enable convergence synergies to be unlocked. Robert Venter, Chief Executive of Altron commented on Altrons rationale for the transaction: Convergence of the telecommunications and IT sectors means that Altech and one of our other wholly owned subsidiaries, Bytes, now have many synergistic areas of business.  Fully owning Altech will enable us to unlock these synergies, streamline our group structure and improve our go-to-market in terms of more focussed offerings to clients.The transaction is valued at R1.8 billion.CEO of Altech, Craig Venter commented, Altrons full ownership of Altech will help to further propel Altron as the leading provider of converged communications on the continent. The synergies between other Altron operations and Altech are already tangible and we look forward to exploring this further now that the acquisition has been approved. The combination of Altech and Bytes will consolidate industry know-how that will be crucial in pursuing new opportunities.Altech will delist from the JSE on 20 August 2013.Altech shareholders will be given the following Scheme Consideration options: For every Altech share owned, shareholders can elect to received R47.50 per share in cash, alternatively, shareholders can elect to receive Altron participating preference shares in the ratio of 2.22 Altron shares per Altech share owned.  A maximum of 50% of the total Scheme Consideration will be paid out in Altron participating preference shares.  The last date that shareholders can make their election in respect of the Scheme Consideration is 16 August 2013 and shareholders are expected to be settled on 19 August 2013.