Curro to Exit JSE: New Era as Public Benefit Organisation

Changes are coming in one of South Africa’s largest private school operators, Curro, after the Jannie Mouton Stigting (the Offeror) announced its firm intention to acquire all Curro shares through a Scheme of Arrangement. If approved, Curro will be delisted from the JSE and converted into a non-profit company (NPC) and public benefit organisation (PBO).

The move comes after Curro reported half-year results for the six months to June 2025, with revenue rising 4.7% to R2.7 billion, while earnings per share fell 36.1%, highlighting the challenges and opportunities ahead for the company.

Background of Offerror

The Offeror was founded by Johannes Fredericus “Jannie” Mouton, a highly respected businessman who is also a founder of Capitec, PSG Group, PSG Financial Services, and Curro itself. In 2004, he established the Trust as a charitable foundation dedicated to uplifting South Africans through education. Since then, it has funded bursaries, supported community development, and contributed to poverty alleviation. The Trust sees Curro as the ideal platform to scale its mission of expanding access to quality education nationwide.

Future of Curro

Under the proposed plan, Curro will continue to operate with its current management team, but with a renewed focus on reinvesting all surplus funds into building new schools, expanding facilities, acquiring institutions, and driving innovation in education. The Trust’s long-term goal is to position Curro as a self-sustaining educational institution that benefits future generations.

The announcement highlights that, “The intention of the Trust is to contribute positively to South Africa by facilitating enhanced accessibility to quality education and to expand education outside city boundaries to more remote areas in time. The Trust has identified Curro as the ideal vehicle through which to achieve these objectives, given that it is already a reputable business and has a strong and forward-thinking management team. Curro is a meaningful force for good and a lighthouse of academic excellence in South Africa and the Trust is confident that it will scale that force for social good even further."

What This Means for Investors

For shareholders, by way of a Scheme of Arrangement, the Offeror will acquire all shares of Curro. The offer is valued at R13 per Curro share and will be settled as:

• R0.85837 in cash per share,
• plus 0.00284 Capitec shares, and 0.07617 PSG Financial Services shares for every Curro share held.

The deal represents a 60% premium to Curro’s closing share price of R8.13 on 25 August 2025 and a 53% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price.

Once implemented, shareholders will exchange their Curro shares for this consideration and will no longer hold Curro stock, as it will be privately owned and delisted. EasyEquities should send communication to shareholders who own shares by the close of market on the last date to trade, after the event is finalised. The transaction is expected to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Until the transaction is finalised, investors can still buy and sell Curro shares on EasyEquities as usual. As of writing, the shares remain listed on the JSE and are currently trading at around R11.90 per share. 

Sources – EasyResearch.

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