As the first bite of winter settles in, the taxman is knocking. On the JSE, this usually translates into a flurry of “selling to settle tax obligations” as performance shares vest and the South African Revenue Service demands its pound of flesh. If you filter out the standard tax season stock dumping, the past two weeks have showcased some intriguing shifts in corporate ownership.
Ninety One has been particularly busy, crossing the 10% threshold in Redefine Properties and the 5% mark in PPC. Redefine, which owns huge retail and commercial assets, has spent the past few years aggressively restructuring its balance sheet and pivoting towards high-demand logistics and premium retail. Ninety One’s double-digit stake seems to be a signal of confidence that high-quality real estate investment trusts are poised for a rebound.
Similarly, the Public Investment Corporation has snapped up a 6.557% beneficial interest in Spear Reit. Spear has been the darling of the sector, operating exclusively in the Western Cape. Shielded by better municipal service delivery and a booming local provincial economy, Spear recently announced an incredibly strong financial 2026 pre-close update, boasting a 97.28% portfolio occupancy rate and more than R1bn in new acquisitions.
Meanwhile, Coronation has tightened its grip on Grindrod, upping its stake to 10.08%. Grindrod has successfully reverted to its core freight and logistics roots, and Coronation clearly believes the value unlock isn’t over yet. PSG Asset Management followed a similar route, increasing its stake in the diversified miner and materials powerhouse Afrimat to 10.46%.
BlackRock has built a 5.002% stake in Sibanye-Stillwater. Despite the volatility in platinum group metals prices, the world’s largest asset manager seems to think this dip is worth buying.
While institutional buying is impressive, nothing beats seeing CEOs reaching into their own pockets. At PSG Financial Services, a cohort of directors, including PSG Wealth CEO Etienne de Waal and PSG Insure CEO Cedric Masondo, elected to plough millions from their own bonuses back into the company’s shares at R27.42 a share.
Rex Trueform CEO Marcel Golding mopped up ordinary shares through his associate, Geomer Investments. While still best known to the public as the parent company of fashion retailer Queenspark, Rex Trueform has evolved into a diversified investment holding company with significant interests spanning commercial property, water infrastructure, media and technology. Golding, a former director at Hosken Consolidated Investments, has an eye for value, and his R2.5m purchase suggests he wants the market to see the significant disconnect between Rex Trueform’s share price and its intrinsic worth.
Not every sale is about tax or lack of faith. For Naspers and Prosus, the disposal of a €335m stake (about 5%) in Delivery Hero was a matter of legal necessity rather than market timing. The sale was required to satisfy European Commission commitments following the takeover of Just Eat Takeaway. It’s a huge transaction, but in the context of the Naspers/Prosus behemoth, it’s simply a regulatory housekeeping exercise to keep the Brussels bureaucrats happy.
Thando Mkatshana recently offloaded roughly R34.7m worth of African Rainbow Minerals shares. A year ago, he was moved from the helm of Patrice Motsepe’s core platinum division into a technical services role. While big share sales happen, cashing out such a large chunk of change a year after a demotion in operational power feels less like routine financial planning and more like the start of an exit strategy.
Over at the Namibian financial services giant Capricorn Group, director Johan Swanepoel sold a chunky N$23.1m stake through a family trust. Swanepoel is the former group chair and the current chair of the flagship asset, Bank Windhoek. Capricorn has historically been a robust dividend payer and a defensive staple on the Namibia Securities Exchange.
Given Swanepoel’s long history and deep institutional ties to the group, a sale of this magnitude is notable, though likely tied to estate planning or diversification rather than a sudden loss of faith in the bank’s fundamentals.
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