The R93 billion sales that put a big smile on Johann Rupert’s face

Billionaire Johann Rupert’s investment vehicle, Reinet, has made significant strides in making its portfolio less concentrated over the past two years – and raised over R93 billion in the process.

In its 2026 financial year, Reinet, which is chaired by Rupert, sold 100% of its shareholding in the UK-based Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).

This sale not only raised proceeds of around €3.3 billion (R62.68 billion) for Reinet but also significantly derisked its portfolio and made the company far more liquid.

In addition, the sale proceeds represent an over three times return on Reinet’s original investment in PIC in 2012.

Combined with the disposal of its shareholding in British American Tobacco (BAT) in 2025, Reinet has raised over R90 billion and ensured that its portfolio is far less concentrated.

This was revealed in Reinet’s annual financial statements for the 2026 financial year, released on Wednesday, 27 May.

These statements showed that Reinet’s net asset value (NAV) declined to €6.6 billion (around R125.82 billion), a decrease of 4.5% from the end of the 2025 financial year.

The decrease in NAV comes despite significant cash generation and strong asset returns over the period, reflecting the weakening of the sterling and US dollar against the euro.

However, even with this decrease in NAV, Reinet has still achieved a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% since March 2009.

Over the course of its 2026 financial year, Reinet made commitments totalling €306 million (R5.83 billion) to new and existing investments, with €109 million (R2.08 billion) funded.

The most notable development this year was Reinet’s sale of 100% of its shareholding in PIC to Athora Holding for around R62.68 billion.

This deal, combined with the disposal of its stake in BAT in early 2025, has materially reduced Reinet’s portfolio concentration.

Prior to these sales, Reinet’s portfolio was extremely concentrated in two legacy assets: PIC and BAT. In 2021, these two companies accounted for 51.2% and 33.9% of the company’s NAV, respectively.

This means over 85% of Reinet’s total value was tied to these two investments alone – and it only became more concentrated in the years to follow.

Reinet’s portfolio concentration from 2021 to 2026 is shown in the table below.

Less concentration, more cash

By March 2024, PIC represented 55.6% of Reinet’s NAV, while BAT accounted for 22%. In this period, Reinet’s cash and liquid funds also hovered in the single digits, representing just 5.7% of NAV.

Therefore, over the course of 2024 and 2025, Reinet sought to change this, steadily exiting its stake in BAT. 

This investment had been part of Reinet since its inception following the spin-off from Richemont in 2008.

However, Reinet decided it was time for a change, and by March 2025, it had raised gross proceeds of over €1.6 billion (around R30.49 billion) from the sale of its BAT shares.

In addition, its cash and liquid funds had risen to 26.3% of NAV by March 2025. However, at this time, PIC still dominated the portfolio at 53.7%.

Therefore, in early March 2026, Reinet sealed a deal with Athora to sell 100% of its stake in PIC, raising R62.86 billion and bringing its cash and liquid funds to an unprecedented 83% of NAV.

Therefore, over the course of just two years, Reinet has materially reduced its portfolio concentration and made its fund significantly more liquid.

Now, the investment giant plans to use its €5.5 billion (around R104.82 billion) in cash and liquid funds to maintain flexibility amid uncertain market conditions.

The firm said it plans to selectively evaluate new investments, with the extra liquidity giving Reinet the freedom to wait until a strong opportunity comes along.

A portion of the cash has also been earmarked to fulfil Reinet’s unfunded commitments to private equity partners and other investments, which totaled €565 million (R10.77 billion) as of March 2026.