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Dis-Chem directors dump R255 million in shares

Dis-Chem executive directors Saul Saltzman and Stanley Goetsch, and director Christopher Williams have dumped R255 million in Dis-Chem shares.

On Friday, 22 June 2024, after the market closed, Dis-Chem announced the three directors’ dealings in securities.

Saul Saltzman is the son of Dis-Chem founder Ivan Saltzman and has been with the company for 19 years.

He has had numerous strategic roles in the business, including heading up the import division and focusing on the private label strategy.

Saltzman, through SAUTA Proprietary Limited, sold 1,200,000 Dis-Chem shares to the value of R38.4 million on 14 June 2024.

Stanley Goetsch, a Dis-Chem stalwart who has been for the company for decades, sold around 5 million shares to the value of R165 million.

The two transactions were done through his associate Stansh Proprietary Limited on 14 June 2024 and 18 June 2024.

Before Dis-Chem was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Goetsch, through Stansh Proprietary Limited, was the second largest shareholder.

Goetsch owned 10.4% of the company. Dis-Chem founders Ivan Saltzman and Lynette Saltzman owned 66.9%.

Christopher Williams, through Minlou Holdings Proprietary Limited, sold over 1.5 million shares to the value of R51 million.

Williams is a qualified pharmacist and a director at Dis-Chem Distribution, trading as CJ Distribution.

Before listing, Williams, through Minlou Holdings Proprietary Limited, owned 2.3% of Dis-Chem.

Dis-Chem did not explain why these directors sold so many of their shares, considering the buoyant market following the favourable election outcome.

The table below provides an overview of the shares sold by Saltzman, Goetsch, and Williams over the last two weeks.

DirectorShares soldValue of shares sold
Stanley Goetsch4,614,560R152 million
Stanley Goetsch385,440R13 million
Saul Saltzman1,200,000R38 million
Christopher Williams322,149R11 million
Christopher Williams957,851R32 million
Christopher Williams233,902R8 million
Total7,713,902R255 million

Dis-Chem directors dumping shares

The latest string of directors selling Dis-Chem shares followed an even bigger sale by Dis-Chem founder Ivan Saltzman earlier this year.

In February, Ivan Saltzman sold R1.43 billion worth of the company’s shares to Coronation through Ivlyn Local Investment Holdings.

His son, Saul Saltzman, sold 3 million Dis-Chem shares to the value of R87.9 million at the same time.

The founder’s large sale took Ivlyn’s stake in the company to 29.31%, where it was previously 35.12%.

Coronation Asset Management acquired the 5.8% Ivlyn sold, and its beneficial interest in Dis-Chem now amounts to 29.83%.

Saltzman and his wife, Lynette, founded the company in 1978 with one Dis-Chem store. It has since grown to 250 stores and reported R32 billion in revenue in its latest results.

The company was listed on the JSE in 2016, shortly after opening its 100th store. It currently trades on the bourse with a market cap of R30 billion.

Saltzman served as the company’s CEO for 45 years before he stepped down in June 2023. He was replaced by Rui Manuel Morais, the company’s former CFO.

In 2023, the Saltzman family divested 32.25 million Dis-Chem ordinary shares to Morais and a group of key senior executives to ensure “their ongoing commitment”.

The Saltzmans and other directors and prescribed officers of Dis-Chem also sold its head office and Midrand distribution centre to the company for around R500 million.

The company explained that this was to ensure that Dis-Chem owned all its core distribution centres and its head office premises in Midrand.

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