The legal tussle between the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and Ibex Holdings, formerly Steinhoff, over R6.3 billion forfeited to the state has ended following a settlement agreement between the two parties.
Last week, the SARB released a statement saying that, pursuant to legal advice received and after careful consideration, all the disputes between the Ibex Group and the Bank were resolved in a comprehensive settlement.
“In coming to the settlement agreement and fully and finally resolving the disputes between them, the SARB and the Ibex Group considered the public interest, the SARB’s mandate of enforcing the Exchange Control Regulations, and the importance of enhancing investor confidence in South Africa, and promoting regulatory certainty by allowing the Ibex Group to settle its contractual obligations to its foreign financial creditors.”
The legal battle between Ibex and SARB stems from the fallout of the 2017 Steinhoff scandal. That year, the resignation of chief executive Markus Jooste and revelations of accounting irregularities sent the company’s share price tumbling and triggered investigations and lawsuits around the world.
Jooste took his own life in March 2024.
Read: Jooste’s death raises questions about the fate of seized assets and Steinhoff prosecution
Tensions between Ibex and the SARB escalated in early 2023, when disputes arose over regulatory action taken by the Bank against Ibex companies. These actions related to alleged breaches of the Exchange Control Regulations uncovered during SARB’s broader investigation.
The disputes led to several court cases. One centred on the SARB’s decision to forfeit about R6.3bn from Ibex to the state. Others involved blocking and prohibition orders that prevented access to various funds and assets belonging to the group.
In July 2024, SARB deputy governor Fundi Tshazibana confirmed in the Government Gazette that she had ordered the forfeiture of the R6.3bn to the National Revenue Fund – marking the SARB’s largest forfeiture on record.
Separately, in June 2024, Ibex raised R9bn through the sale of 500 million Pepkor Holdings shares, intending to use the money to reduce debt. Although the SARB had approved the expatriation of funds in April of that year, it later issued a directive holding the transfer in abeyance, including the Pepkor proceeds.
Further instructions in July froze the entire R9bn. But by October 2024, the SARB relaxed its position, allowing Ibex to use the money to meet some of its foreign debt obligations.
Read: SARB unfreezes R9bn: a win for Ibex Holdings in settling foreign debts
Ibex cuts stake in Pepkor
As part of the settlement reached last week, the High Court in Pretoria – following an agreement between the parties – set aside prohibition orders that restricted Ibex’s ability to deal in certain shares in Pepkor, Africa’s largest retail group and the owner of brands such as PEP and Ackermans.
In a SENS announcement in March, Pepkor informed shareholders that Ainsley Holdings, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Ibex, had been barred from trading Pepkor shares worth about R12.5bn.
At the time, Ainsley held more than a billion Pepkor shares, representing 28.2% of the company’s issued share capital. According to the SENS, the SARB issued an order under Regulation 22C(2)(b) of the Exchange Control Regulations to block dealings in 506 million shares – 13.7% of Pepkor’s total issued shares. The regulation empowers the SARB to halt transactions where breaches of exchange control laws are suspected.
Read: Steinhoff’s shadow still looms over Pepkor as SARB freezes shares
With the ink not even dry on the High Court settlement agreement, Ainsley and SAHPL Proprietary Limited – both indirect subsidiaries of Ibex Topco BV – notified Pepkor on 22 July that the Ibex Group had reduced its beneficial interest in the company from 28.48% to only 0.19%.
A day later, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) disclosed that it had increased its stake in Pepkor, raising its beneficial interest from 14.91% to 15.46%.
When the Steinhoff scandal first came to light, a complex series of debt restructuring and settlement processes were put in place between 2018 and 2023 to avoid an uncontrolled liquidation and lessen the financial fallout. These processes enabled the group to repay more than R28bn to South African banks and form part of a global settlement with a total value of about R29.6bn. Of that, roughly R18.5bn went to South African investors – including the PIC, one of the largest claimants – to the benefit of retirement fund members.
