End of an era for one of South Africa’s top companies
Balwin Properties is set to be delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) after a consortium offered to buy all eligible shares in the company.
This will mark the end of an era for Balwin Properties as a listed entity on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and A2X.
Balwin was founded in 1996 by Steve Brookes, the current chief executive and the company’s largest shareholder.
Balwin completed its first sectional title development in Johannesburg South later that year and has shown strong growth since then.
It undertook its first large-scale estate development in 2007 in Johannesburg East, with the business expanding into the Western Cape in 2011.
Balwin Properties embarked on significant developments in Tshwane in 2014 and KwaZulu-Natal in 2017.
Amidst this growth, it was listed in the Real Estate Investment and Services sector on the JSE since October 2015.
Between 2021 and 2023, Balwin grew into the largest sectional title developer in South Africa with nearly 100 developments.
Today, the group is based in Johannesburg, with regional offices in Somerset West, Western Cape, and Umhlanga Ridge, KwaZulu-Natal.
It continues to invest in large-scale residential property developments and the sale of sectional-title apartments.
Balwin estates typically comprise between 1,000 and 3,000 sectional-title residential apartments in high-density, high-growth nodes.
These developments are spread across metropolitan areas in Johannesburg, Tshwane, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Lifestyle centres typically include facilities such as free Wi-Fi, restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, playgrounds, laundromats, and concierge services.
The Group has a build-to-sell development pipeline of 26,334 apartments across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
In addition, Balwin Properties has approximately 7,700 apartments identified for potential build-to-rent development.
Balwin Properties set to be delisted from the JSE
On Wednesday, 20 May 2026, a consortium announced its intention to acquire all eligible issued ordinary shares in Balwin at R4.35 per share in cash.
The consortium is backed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), acting on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund, together with Balwin founder investors.
The Balwin founder investors include Steve Brookes, Balwin Managing Director, Rodney Grey, and GRE Africa, related to Buffet Investments.
The offer values Balwin’s total issued share capital at approximately R2.26 billion and gives eligible shareholders the opportunity to realise cash value at a premium.
The offer represents a 23% premium to Balwin’s 30-day volume-weighted average price, and eligible shareholders will be paid approximately R1.12 billion.
Balwin will become a wholly owned subsidiary of K2025746588 Proprietary Limited, and its shares will be delisted from the JSE and A2X.
“This transaction brings together long-term domestic institutional capital from the PIC, with the continued commitment of Balwin’s founder-management,” Brookes said.
“Importantly, management and the reinvesting shareholders are not taking cash out of the transaction.”
Commenting on the company’s delisting, Brookes explained that Balwin listed on the JSE in 2015 to enhance its ability to raise debt and equity finance.
However, things have changed since then. The Bidding Consortium believes that the listing is no longer as compelling, given the limited liquidity in Balwin shares.
It is also trading at a significant discount to its underlying net asset value, and the costs associated with maintaining a listed-company structure do not make sense.
The Bidding Consortium believes private ownership will provide a more appropriate ownership structure for Balwin’s next phase.
It will also enjoy long-term institutional capital from the PIC on behalf of the GEPF, and continued founder-management reinvestment.
“Private ownership will better align Balwin’s funding base with the long-term nature of our development pipeline,” Brookes said.
Balwin Properties photos
Comments