RMH set to delist from JSE after R600m buyout by WeBuyCars co-founders

RMH Holdings is set to be de-listed from the JSE after its board agreed to a R0.47 per share purchase offer from AttBid, owned by Faan van der Walt and Dirk van der Walt, the billionaire brothers who co-founded and disposed of significant stock worth R866 million in WeBuyCars this month.

On Monday, RMH, which unbundled RMB in 2020 to retain its interests in property, said it had entered into an agreement for the implementation of a bid by AttBid to acquire all the issued ordinary shares in RMH that are not currently held by Atterbury Property Fund (APF). 

After unbundling FirstRand, RMH has shifted its corporate strategy into becoming an investment holding company with a focus on monetising its property-related investments, said the company.

Consequently, RMH has over the past five years assessed monetisation options for the disposal of the RMH Property portfolio, including its 38.5% interest in Atterbury Property Holdings although it had received no compelling offers.

Now, AttBid, majority-owned by the WeBuyCars co-founders has stepped up, with RMH deeming it as “the most natural acquirer” of RMH Property. Under the terms of the transaction, AttBid will also proceed to acquire the remaining offer shares.

This will result in AttBid effectively holding 71.65% in RMH, with APF still controlling 28.35% subject to any impact of the treasury shares on such percentages. Faan van der Walt and Dirk van der Walt will hold about 36.54% of RMH on completion of the transaction.

With the transaction being settled in cash, AttBid had already secured an irrevocable unconditional guarantee from Standard Bank South Africa.

“The guarantee confirms that, if the amounts due in respect of the consideration are not paid by the relevant due date, Standard Bank South Africa agrees to make payment of the relevant amounts to RMH Shareholders and fully satisfy AttBid's cash commitments,” said RMH and AttBid in a joint statement.

On attaining control of RMH, AttBid intends to delist RMH from the JSE, marking a significant exit for a company that holds an iconic position on the local bourse having played a key role in the setting up of financial institutions such as RMB.

The RMH board said though it believes that the acquisition by AttBid provides shareholders with “the option of realising immediate and certain value at the prevailing market price, which must be considered against the ongoing operational costs of running a listed company as well as any potential future capital requirements from Atterbury which may cumulatively lead to significant future value” erosion.

RMH currently had a market capitalisation of about R640.75m and a net asset value of 48.6 cents.

For its 2025 full year, RMH reported an operating loss of R243m, largely on account of impairments in Atterbury as well as higher credit loss provisions. At the time, the company’s CEO said “cost optimisation remained a priority, with the consolidation of the CEO and FD roles expected to reduce annual operating expenses from R21m” to approximately R16m.

RMH views structural economic challenges such as high unemployment, weak confidence, and insufficient infrastructure investment continued to constrain growth for South Africa. This is despite the slow-paced progress in renewable energy and logistics through public–private partnerships.

BUSINESS REPORT