Group Five, a former giant in the South African construction industry, plans to delist from the JSE after 46 years, on June 12.
The company, which had been struggling for years due to the weak economy and declining infrastructure investment in the country, went into business rescue proceedings last September. Its shares have been suspended since March 2019.The group was first listed in 1974.
The group’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs) said on Monday that upon the implementation of the business rescue plans, they did not believe “that there is any realistic prospect of there being any residual value available for or attributable to shareholders and, consequently, the issued shares of the company have no value”.
In addition, Group Five no longer complied with the JSE listings requirements in various respects, such as not having a board, board committees, prescribed capital or recent audited financial statements.
Over the past three months other well-known companies, such as Edcon and Comair, have filed for business rescue due to the weak economy, now also compounded by the effects of the national lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The business rescue practitioners said in their April report that the business rescue proceedings might be delayed due to the economic and social consequences directly associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
The sale process for the Everite business had been temporarily suspended. The business disruption arising from Covid-19 and the lockdown has been material on the Everite business, the sale process itself, and on bidders participating in the sale process.
The business rescue practitioners would decide on the resumption or relaunching of the sale process at a more appropriate time.