Jannie Mouton's Trust offers R7.2bn to acquire Curro Holdings

An education trust founded by PSG Founder and Capitec co-founder Jannie Mouton has made a R7.2 billion offer to acquire all of Curro Holdings, South Africa’s biggest private education company.

The early morning announcements on Wednesday saw the share price rocket 53.68% to R12.31, and the intention is to delist Curro and turn it into a non-profit organisation, a statement said.

Curro said its board had received an offer letter from the Jannie Mouton Stigting (Foundation) to acquire all of the issued Curro shares by way of a scheme of arrangement. Curro’s market capitalisation at the close of trade on Tuesday was R4.52bn.

The Trust already owns 3.36% of Curro. The offer was R13 a share, of which 6.6% would comprise cash, 79% Capitec shares, and 13.78% PSG Financial Services shares.

Curro CEO Cobus Loubser said in an interview that an independent board would be established to evaluate the fairness of the offer to shareholders, and shareholder and other regulatory approvals would still need to be obtained if the transaction were to proceed.

The offer price represents a 60% premium to the closing share price of R8.13 on August 25 on the JSE and a premium of 53% to the 30-day volume weighted average share price of the company of R8.52 per share as at the same date.

Mouton, who had also played a major role in establishing Curro, had established the Trust in 2004 as a vehicle to invest money in education for the benefit of more people in South Africa.

Since then, he had donated a portion of his wealth to the Trust to uplift South African people.

The objectives of the Trust are focused on providing bursaries and grants to learners and students in South Africa, community development and outreach, and the alleviation of poverty.

The Trust had identified Curro as an “ideal vehicle” through which to achieve these objectives, given it "is already a reputable business and has a strong and forward-thinking management team."

Loubser said Curro is a meaningful force for academic excellence in South Africa, and it appeared the aims of the Trust were aligned. The Curro group currently has about 85% black students.

“Management adopted an introspective approach to drive financial margins and returns higher rather than to expand Curro's network during the last few years in a period of anaemic economic growth...although (Curro) will continue to operate with efficiency and expansion, Curro's growth will be accelerated through reinvestment of its potential returns/surplus to scale its offering faster and further,” the offer stated.

Meanwhile, it was also reported on Wednesday that Curro's headline earnings per share and cash generation increased even though the average number of learners fell by 1.4% to 71 749 in the six months to June 30.

Loubser attributed the decline in student numbers to a short-term factor of the weak economy. The results showed headline earnings per share up 0.2% to 40.3 cents, while cash generated from operating activities increased 10.3% to R688m.

Revenue increased 4.7% to R2.71bn. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation was unchanged at R625m. Ancillary revenue increased strongly by 10.8% year-on-year.

“Curro’s ability to maintain its earnings and generate more cash despite lower learner numbers demonstrates its robust financial discipline,” said Loubser.

In South Africa's education sector, private schools are experiencing increased demand from parents seeking alternatives to public education, while economic pressures impact family budgets.

The total school fee revenue increased by 4.1%, reflecting the reduction in learner numbers which offset a portion of the annual school fee increases.

The company invested R264m in capital expenditure, including R136m on classroom and facility expansion and R156m on refurbishments and maintenance. It plans to invest up to R630m in projects in the full 2025 year.

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