Investing

Johann Rupert’s ‘forgotten’ R85 billion stepchild

Johann Rupert is closely associated with Richemont and Remgro, but many forget about his other multi-billion company, Reinet.

The Rupert family’s wealth stems from Anton Rupert, who established the tobacco company Voorbrand in the 1940s.

Voorbrand was the forerunner of Rembrandt, which entered the South African cigarette and tobacco industry in 1948.

Rembrandt was a runaway success in South Africa, listing on the JSE less than a decade after being founded.

In the 1970s, Rembrandt expanded into other industries, such as financial services, mining, engineering, and food.

Johann Rupert, Anton Rupert’s oldest son, spun off Rembrandt’s international assets to form Compagnie Financiere Richemont.

Richemont is a Swiss luxury goods holding company with brands like Cartier and Montblanc, with a market cap of R1.47 trillion.

In 1995, Rembrandt and Richemont consolidated their tobacco interests in Rothmans International. It later merged these interests with those of British American Tobacco.

In 2008, Richemont’s non-luxury-related activities, which housed its tobacco interests, were spun off into Reinet Investments. Johann Rupert is Reinet Investments’ executive chairman.

Reinet Investments is a securitisation vehicle listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Reinet Fund is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reinet Investments and is the vehicle for all of the investments held within the structure.

Reinet’s principal asset is Richemont’s former interest in British American Tobacco, which accounts for 22% of its net asset value.

Although Reinet does not enjoy the same high profile as Richemont and Remgro, it is a formidable company with a market cap of R85 billion.

Reinet’s largest shareholder is the Anton Rupert Trust, controlled by the Rupert family and, therefore, Johann Rupert.

The trust holds 48.8 million ordinary shares in Reinet, translating into a 27% ownership worth R23.5 billion.

In addition to the value of their significant stake in the company, the Rupert family also receives large dividends from Reinet.

Over the past five years, Reinet has paid an average dividend yield of 1.31%, which has translated into increasing dividend payments since 2020.

Since 2018, the Anton Rupert Trust has received R1.6 billion in dividends from Reinet Investments, with the last dividend payment being R340 million.

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