South African landlord one step closer to kissing the JSE goodbye

Balwin shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the company’s takeover by a consortium that includes the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

While the takeover remains subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, this marks a major milestone in the acquisition, which will result in Balwin delisting from the JSE.

On Monday, 17 August, Balwin informed the market that its shareholders voted in favour of the takeover scheme.

The vote took place at a General Meeting held on Monday, and saw 98.48% of shareholders in attendance approve the acquisition.

This means Balwin easily met the majority vote required for the deal to go through, bringing its finalisation one step closer. The outcome of the shareholder vote was largely expected. 

Prior to the General Meeting, the consortium, called BidCo, received letters of support and irrevocable undertakings that represented 63.51% of eligible voting shareholders.

Among these shareholders was Tatovect, which is also Balwin’s broad-based black economic empowerment special purpose vehicle. Tatovect holds 18.29% of the scheme shares.

Other institutional investors, including Abax Investments, which holds 21.69% of the scheme shares, and Bryte Insurance, which holds 9.10%, also confirmed their support for the deal.

BidCo is backed by the PIC, which is acting on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund, and also includes Balwin founders Stephen Brookes and Rodney Gray. 

Brookes and Gray are among the company’s largest shareholders. In 2025, Brookes, through Volker Holdings, held 33.07% of the company’s issued shares. Gray, through Rodna Investments, held 9.43%.

GRE Africa is another major Balwin shareholder and also forms part of BidCo. GRE owns 7.58% of the company’s shares.

BidCo’s offer was first announced in May 2026, with the consortium offering R4.35 per share. This values Balwin at R2.26 billion.

Once the deal is finalised, Balwin will be delisted from the JSE and run as a private company.