Paraprop announced in April it would sell a 26% interest to the empowerment company. But at a meeting last Friday, shareholders shot the deal down, much to the chagrin of management.

The company said a total of 77,14% of shareholders were present in person or by proxy, with 67,35% voting in favour, 32% voting against, and 0,65% abstaining from voting. For the deal to go through, it required the consent of 75% of shareholders voting in person or by proxy.

Paraprop executive director Bruce Kerswill said the shareholders who voted against the deal did not give reasons for their decision. “A lot of the votes were sent by proxy,” said Kerswill.

He said Paraprop management was disappointed the deal had not been approved and he could not “speculate on the reasons it did not go through”.

He said Paraprop was trading under a cautionary notice and he could not comment further.

The company said it took “great care in designing the proposals to ensure that the long-term interests of Paraprop and all its stakeholders would be positively affected”.

“Taking all the relevant factors into account, the board believes the proposals to have been fair and reasonable, and in the best interests of Paraprop.”

Paraprop said its board remained “committed to the continued and sustainable growth of the South African economy which, in (its) view, will largely depend on the extent to which black South Africans participate”.

Publisher: Business Day
Source: Business Day