Johann Rupert’s ‘stepchild’ has assets worth R136 billion

Reinet, chaired by billionaire Johann Rupert, saw its net asset value (NAV) fall to around R136.14 billion over the past six months.

This comes amidst a deal-making spree that saw the investment sell two of its largest holdings over the past year.

On Monday, 21 July 2025, Reinet informed the market that, as at 30 June 2025, its NAV was €38.54 (around R794.25) per share. The company currently has 171.3 million shares in issue.

This means that, as of 30 June 2025, Reinet’s NAV amounted to €6.60 billion (around R136.14 billion). 

This represents a decrease of €315 million (R6.49 billion) compared to the €6.92 billion (R142.62 billion) NAV the company reported at the end of March 2025.

Reinet’s NAV reflects Reinet Fund’s shareholding in UK-based Pension Insurance Corporation, other investments, cash resources, and other assets and liabilities. 

However, these latest NAV figures do not yet reflect the impact of the investment giant’s latest deal, which will see it sell its stake in the Pension Insurance Company, its largest holding.

In June this year, the company announced it was in talks to sell its 49.5% stake in the Pension Insurance Corporation.

In the company’s latest results for the year ended 31 March 2025, Reinet’s 49.5% stake in this company was its most valuable holding, comprising 53.7% of its net asset value. The stake is worth around €3.72 billion (R77.62 billion).

On 3 July 2025, Reinet confirmed that it has reached an agreement to sell its stake to Athora Holding UK for approximately £5.7 billion (R136.36 billion).

However, this total, including expected dividends, is expected to be around £5.9 billion (R141.13 billion) by the time the deal closes.

Reinet first invested in Pension Insurance Corporation in 2012 through an initial £400 million (R9.57 billion) commitment. 

Through participation in subsequent primary and secondary share purchases, Reinet’s total investment in PIC currently totals around £1.1 billion (R26.32 billion). 

To date, Reinet has received £426 million (R10.19 billion) in dividends from PIC. It is currently the investment giant’s largest holding.

Deal-making spree

This sale of Reinet’s stake in Pension Insurance Corporation comes shortly after the investment giant sold its shares in British American Tobacco (BAT) earlier this year.

While Pension Insurance Corporation is Reinet’s biggest holding, the sale of its stake was seen as the end of a significant era for the company.

Reinet is chaired by billionaire Johann Rupert, whose family’s wealth was built on tobacco. Johann Rupert’s father, Anton Rupert, established Voorbrand, a tobacco company, 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.

Throughout the 1970s, Rembrandt expanded into other industries, like financial services, mining, engineering and food.

A decade or so later, in the 1980s, Johann Rupert spun off Rembrandt’s international assets to form Swiss-based luxury goods holding company Compagnie Financiere Richemont, which holds brands like Cartier and Montblanc.

Rembrandt and Richemont consolidated their tobacco interests in Rothmans International in 1995. A few years later, these tobacco interests were merged with those of BAT.

In 2008, Reinet was established when Richemont spun off its non-luxury-related activities, including its tobacco interests, into a third company, Reinet Investments.

Therefore, Reinet was established as an investment vehicle, the principal asset of which was Richemont’s interest in BAT.

BAT continued to be one of Reinet’s largest holdings for years, until the end of 2024, when the investment giant unexpectedly sold a significant part of its stake in the company.

On 30 September 2024, Reinet owned 48.3 million BAT ordinary shares, comprising 24% of the net asset value of the company.

During November and December 2024, Reinet sold 5 million BAT ordinary shares through a dribble-out process for £148.5 million.

By mid-2025, Reinet had sold its entire stake in the tobacco giant, marking the end of the companies’ long history together.

This transaction raised an estimated £1.37 billion (R31.6 billion) for Reinet at the time, which the company said would be used for future investment opportunities.