TechCabal Daily – A not-so-Flash deal

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When Pepkor, the South African retailer behind PEP and Ackermans, announced its Flash-Shop2Shop merger in July, the pitch was development: mix two giant service provider networks, construct an even bigger fintech enterprise, then record it individually. Three months later, the deal is attracting consideration for a unique motive.

What occurred? Some Pepkor administrators and traders consider shareholders ought to have been allowed to vote on the R21.3 billion ($1.3 billion) transaction. Pepkor will personal 57.1% of the mixed entity, FintechCo. Pieter Erasmus, Pepkor’s chief govt officer (CEO), will not directly personal 13.2%, value roughly R2.8 billion ($170 million) on the deal valuation, according to the company’s filing.

Erasmus recused himself from discussions and choices. Pepkor additionally obtained unbiased valuations and a voluntary truthful opinion. JSE guidelines didn’t require a shareholder vote as a result of the deal is classed as a Category 2 transaction—which have to be publicly disclosed however doesn’t require shareholder approval—whereas Erasmus’s curiosity falls beneath the edge that may make it a related-party transaction. 

Explain like I’m new right here: Erasmus’s hyperlink to Shop2Shop isn’t new. An related firm owned 31.2% of Shop2Shop earlier than the merger, and Flash and Shop2Shop had already been doing enterprise collectively since 2020. Pepkor disclosed these relationships in earlier financial statements.

Between the strains: Pepkor didn’t want shareholder approval beneath JSE guidelines. But some traders nonetheless assume a deal this essential—particularly one by which the CEO has a monetary curiosity—ought to have gone earlier than shareholders. FintechCo is central to Pepkor’s subsequent section, and its CEO stands to personal a priceless stake within the personal firm being introduced into the group. A shareholder vote, even a non-binding one, would have given traders a direct say on that battle.

Zoom out: Pepkor is transferring shortly past retail. Financial-services income jumped 41.6% within the first half of 2026, and the group plans to launch a financial institution in April 2027. As extra of Pepkor’s development comes from finance and funds—as it eyes banking—in addition to different personal offers, traders will care simply as a lot about how these companies are put collectively and how briskly they develop.

Quickmart’s homeowners are selling half the supermarket chain to the public. But earlier than these new shareholders come on board, the retailer has been cleansing up some outdated preparations with the individuals who constructed and owned the enterprise.

What occurred? Quickmart terminated several consultancy and management contracts with founder- and director-linked companies in July, months earlier than its preliminary public providing (IPO). In 2025 alone, Quickmart paid KES 208.4 million ($1.6 million) in administration charges to its dad or mum firms, KES 268.7 million ($2.1 million) to Basic Land Investment, and KES 161 million ($1.2 million) to Resource Business Investments. 

Those three funds alone got here to about KES 638 million ($4.9 million), roughly 43% of Quickmart’s KES 1.5 billion ($11.6 million) internet revenue that 12 months. 

Explain like I’m new right here: Founder-linked transactions aren’t robotically an issue. Private firms typically lean on their homeowners for property, recommendation, or different providers. The calculation adjustments as soon as strangers are invited to purchase shares. Investors wish to know that cash leaving the corporate is being spent on the perfect accessible phrases, not merely routed to insiders.

Between the strains: Ending the contracts makes Quickmart simpler to scrutinise as a public firm, but it surely doesn’t imply the complete KES 638 million ($4.9 million) out of the blue turns into revenue. The retailer should want a few of these providers and will pay exterior advisers or construct the work in-house. The extra essential change is who will get to determine what these providers price.

Some hyperlinks to the founders stay. Eighteen Quickmart shops are nonetheless leased from companies related to founders or administrators, although the retailer mentioned these leases are on regular industrial phrases.

Zoom out: Governance issues extra right here as a result of Quickmart itself isn’t elevating cash. Its proprietor, Sokoni Retail Kenya, is selling two billion existing shares for KES 15 billion ($116 million), and can acquire the proceeds from the general public provide in a much-needed itemizing for Kenya’s capital market. Quickmart has already opened the offer, with full buying and selling anticipated by November 12.

Eskom has spent a long time retaining South Africa’s lights on, largely by burning coal. Now, it needs to assist maintain the nation’s electrical automobiles transferring, too.

What occurred? The state-owned electrical energy firm has opened its first public electrical automobile (EV) charging stations on the Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Umhlanga and The Pavilion Shopping Centre in Durban, South Africa. Eskom’s two new charging stations every have two quick direct-current (DC) charging ports able to delivering as much as 120 kilowatts (kW), plus one alternating-current (AC) port providing as much as 22kW. 

Explain like I’m new right here: Eskom could also be finest identified for producing electrical energy, however charging electrical automobiles generally is a pure extension of that enterprise, utilizing its working expertise with electrical energy infrastructure to assist the expansion of electrical transport. E.ON, one in every of Europe’s largest investor-owned electrical utility service suppliers, operates a community of public and residential electrical automobile (EV) charging infrastructure throughout Europe and the UK. 

Eskom has been attempting its hand at clear enterprise for some time. In August 2024, the corporate, in partnership with GridCars, a South African charging-network operator, launched a pilot with 10 charging stations throughout 5 of its properties, however stored it closed to most people. In September 2025, it introduced 20 electric vehicles (EVs) and mentioned it needed to transition its whole fleet to electrical by 2035. It additionally introduced plans to roll out 55 public charging stations over two years. Eskom additionally signed an agreement with BYD, the Chinese car-maker, to assist electrical mobility and increase public charging infrastructure in South Africa.

From producing energy to promoting a cost: Eskom is getting into the EV charging enterprise, giving it a bonus as a result of it already runs South Africa’s electrical energy system. Charging operators make cash by promoting energy to drivers, however in addition they pay for tools, upkeep, grid connections and demand charges.

Some business gamers have raised issues that Eskom might have supplied sure websites decrease demand prices, which might allow them to value charging extra cheaply than rivals. Eskom says its pilot pricing follows current tariffs and rules.

What does this imply for drivers? Eskom’s new DC chargers price R5.88 ($0.045) per kilowatt-hour (kWh), in contrast with R7.35 ($0.057) at GridCars’ public stations, making Eskom’s charges 20% cheaper. For a driver shopping for 50 kWh of electrical energy, which means paying R294 ($2.27) at an Eskom station as an alternative of R367.5 ($2.83) at GridCars, the nation’s largest EV charging station operator, serving to them save about R73.50 ($0.57) on a single cost. Eskom’s decrease costs provide drivers a less expensive various to current charging networks, though its capacity to compete with established operators will rely upon how extensively it expands its public charging stations. 

South Africa recorded gross sales of over 16,000 new-energy vehicles in 2025, however increasing its public charging community stays essential to creating electrical driving extra sensible, particularly for drivers who can’t cost at house or journey continuously between cities.

The Dangote Refinery preliminary public providing (IPO), initially scheduled to shut on October 13, has been extended by two weeks, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The extension provides retail traders extra time to purchase shares within the firm, amid rising curiosity from traders in different African international locations.

What occurred? Dangote Refinery says it has obtained sturdy curiosity from eligible traders throughout Africa and different markets. The IPO, which opened on September 14, will now remain open till October 27.

Explain like I’m new right here: Dangote is giving on a regular basis traders an opportunity to personal a chunk of its refinery. Each share prices ₦525 ($0.40), and the corporate plans to promote 4.1 billion shares to lift ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion). The additional two weeks will enable it to usher in traders from extra African international locations and full the preparations wanted for them to purchase shares throughout borders.

Many individuals need in: In Kenya, Renaissance Capital, a Kenyan funding financial institution, labored on a brand new automobile that may enable Kenyan investors to participate in the IPO by Kenya’s inventory trade, for KES 49 ($0.38) per share. In Zimbabwe, asset supervisor Bard Santner Investors is facilitating local participation by securing the required approvals and transferring shoppers’ cash from Ecobank Zimbabwe to Ecobank Nigeria.

More time, extra shares? Not essentially. The extension provides extra traders time to take part; it doesn’t robotically improve the variety of shares on provide. Dangote has regulatory approval to promote extra fairness if demand warrants it, probably elevating to $2.1 billion, however the firm has not mentioned that the extension itself will set off a bigger provide. 

What does this imply? The extension provides Dangote extra time to extend participation and profit from the potential cross-border demand in its refinery. Dangote’s IPO has turn out to be a serious check of how simply traders should purchase shares throughout African borders. Kenya’s route and Zimbabwe’s bank-transfer association present that traders are discovering methods in, and Dangote needs a pan-African shareholder base.

The World Wide Web3

Source:

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$83,958	+ 1.19%	+ 8.69%
Ether	$2,561	+ 2.40%	+ 2.40%
XRP	$1.40	– 0.67%	– 1.96%
Solana	$110.62	– 4.27%	+ 6.15%

* Data as of 06.37 AM WAT, October 13, 2026.

Written by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Yemi Kareem

Edited by: Emmanuel Nwosu & Ganiu Oloruntade