Johannesburg, 10 Feb 2006
As state-owned enterprises Transnet, Denel and Eskom prepare to exit from technology group arivia.kom as part of government`s strategy to refocus parastatals on their core functions, there is little clarity on the details surrounding the disinvestments.
Arivia.kom CEO Zeth Malele declined to comment on the issue, saying it is a shareholder matter and that management is "not being informed of each step of the process".
"We just work here and it doesn`t really concern or affect us who the shareholders in arivia.kom are," he says.
However, Malele does not expect the change in shareholding structure to affect arivia.kom`s business in any way. The company, he says, will continue to deliver the services to the transport utility and the defence group.
"For us it will be business as usual."
Transnet holds 31.96% of arivia, Eskom 45.6% and Denel 22.98%.
Last year, public enterprises minister Alec Erwin announced that state-owned enterprises would either divest or transfer their non-core assets, in order to focus on core business and reduce borrowings.
In a recent interview with ITWeb, Pottie Potgieter, Denel group executive of commercial business, said the defence group exit should be finalised by the financial year-end, at the end of March.
Potgieter revealed Eskom and Transnet have pre-emptive rights to Denel`s stake, but it is not known whether government will choose to exercise this right. It seems unlikely in light of government`s efforts to refocus state-owned enterprises.
Denel, he said, recently announced a tender for the stake and several potential buyers were short-listed.
Transnet, on the other hand, is still in the process of gaining the necessary approvals from shareholders to dispose of its 31.96% in arivia, says communications GM John Dludlu.
He refused to be drawn on details, but says the sale would be concluded within 18 months of obtaining shareholder approval.
He would also not say whether Transnet would choose to follow the Denel route of a tender process or whether it would go directly to market.
"An announcement will be made in due course," Dludle explains.
Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu could not comment at the time of publication.
"I`m not on top of what is happening with arivia," he says.
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