SDT sets itself up for BEE transaction with R50m reverse listing onto JSE

Created on Thursday, 04 May 2006 13:46

Pretoria-headquartered SDT Financial Software Solutions (SDT) has announced that it is
being acquired by a consortium as part of a reverse listing onto the JSE Securities Exchange.

 The R50 million reverse listing is part of a broader strategy to facilitate a black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction.

In terms of the transaction, the consortium acquires SDT and uses the Synergy Holdings cash shell to effectively reverse-list SDT. Synergy Holdings will be renamed SilverBridge Holdings, and the listing moved to the AltX, pending JSE approval. SilverBridge will be aligned as a black-empowered entity: the parties are in advanced negotiations regarding a decision to sell 25% of the shares to an as yet unnamed black empowerment partner.

“As a listed entity, the deal will create a more transparent business to meet and surpass good governance requirements, giving customers and employees better access to information,” says Freda du Toit, executive director at SDT.

Jaco Swanepoel, executive director at SDT, says: “Our employees are invaluable to us, and the BEE partner will create role models with whom our black technical employees can identify. This engagement will also give us the opportunity to bring junior staff aboard to learn and grow with the business. In addition, since our clients are in the financial services sector, with its stringent BEE mandates, it is important for them to have BEE suppliers.”

Synergy will issue 25 million shares at R2 each to settle the deal with SDT’s vendors, the 
Jaco Swanepoel Trust, the Freda du Toit Trust, the i capital Growth Fund I Trust and the 
SDT Share Trust held by employees.

SDT is a specialised software business that provides administration systems to the financial services industry. It opened its doors in Pretoria in 1995 and employs 70 business and technical experts and operates in five countries on two continents. It is one of South Africa’s fastest growing software companies.

The company’s strategy post-listing will be to acquire similar niche software companies to build a group of black-empowered software and service companies through acquisition.

Contact 
Sumari Lottering, SDT Financial Software Solutions, (012) 347-4945, sumari@sdt.co.za Karen Breytenbach, Predictive Communications, 011 608 1700, Karen@predictive.co.za