Author: Gugu Lourie

Vivendi SA’s Canal+ buys a stake in pay-TV operator MultiChoice, the company informed investors on Monday. MultiChoice disclosed on the JSE that Canal+ has acquired 6.5% stake in the company. “As a publicly held company, MultiChoice regularly engages with its strategic partners and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community,” MultiChoice said. “The group’s policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders nor on its interactions with them. The company remains committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders and to create sustainable long-term shareholder value.”  Canal+ Group, the pay-TV subsidiary of France’s Vivendi,  is “evolving from an…

The Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) has threatened to shut down Cell C after the embattled mobile phone operator failed to reach an agreement with the union. ICTU has filed an urgent application at the Johannesburg Labour Court to stop embattled Cell C from carrying out processes that could lead to the retrenchment of workers. Cell C is facing off with the ICTU at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) regarding retrenchments. The ICTU, which is an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions led by Zwelinzima Vavi, is the sole worker representative at Cell C. The union…

The Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) has filed an urgent application at the Johannesburg Labour Court to stop embattled Cell C from carrying out processes that could lead to the retrenchment of workers. Cell C is facing off with the ICTU at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) regarding retrenchments. The ICTU, which is an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions led by Zwelinzima Vavi, is the sole worker representative at Cell C. TechFinancials is reliably informed that ICTU filed the papers at the court yesterday. However, sources close to the matter say the urgent application…

The African Democratic Change (ADEC) has told bosses at Cell C to suspend plans to retrench workers and warned the embattled company that it faces a wave of country-wide protests if it goes ahead with job cuts. TechFinancials has it on good authority that the mobile phone operator is planning to retrench 40% of its junior management and semi-skilled staff. At the same time, Cell C is facing off with the Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. The ICTU, which is an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions led by Zwelinzima Vavi,…

Embattled Cell C is trying to appoint a managed services provider to handle its contract and broadband customers. If a deal is secured, the move will enable Cell C to hold onto its post-paid customers. Impeccable sources on Tuesday said Cell C was in talks with Comm Equipment Company (CEC), a handset financing company owned by JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms. Blue Label Telecoms owns 45% of struggling Cell C, and as the biggest shareholder it is leading a process to recapitalise the business. TechFinancials sources say CEC is interested in taking over the servicing of Cell C’s contract and broadband…

Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) is investing in Pakistan-based on-demand transport and logistics platform, Bykea. The company wants to help Bykea to execute further on their vision to become Pakistan’s ‘Super-App’. Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and is majority-owned by Naspers. Today, Prosus companies and associates help improve the lives of around a fifth of the world’s population. Every day, millions of people use the products and services of companies that Prosus has invested in, acquired or built, including Avito, Brainly, BYJU’S, Codecademy, ElasticRun, eMAG, Eruditus, Honor, iFood,…

Vodacom has announced that it will offer the latest products from Apple, including Apple Watch Series 6, delivering breakthrough wellness and fitness capabilities, and Apple Watch SE, the ultimate combination of design, function, and value. The Vodafone-owned telco said customers will be able to order the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE from 2 October 2020. Apple Watch Series 6 Apple Watch Series 6  introduced a revolutionary Blood Oxygen feature that offers users even more insight into their overall wellness. It also delivers many notable hardware improvements, including a faster S6 System in Package (SiP) and next-generation always-on altimeter,…

Woolworths’ top five executives took home R59 million in 2020, but the company’s South Africa frontline workers shared R25.6 million, the company’s latest annual report revealed. Roy Bagattini, the boss of Woolworths, was paid R15.7 million. The total remuneration for Bagattini, appointed as Group CEO on 17 February 2020, includes conditional sign-on bonuses, relocation, rental accommodation, legal expenses, and incidental relocation expenses amounting to R9.5 million. His base salary was R4.6 million. Former CEO Ian Moir took home a salary of R13.9 million. Moir resigned as Group CEO on 16 February 2020.  The company said from 17 February Moir earned an…

Capitec Bank revealed on Wednesday it has attracted more than 1.1 million new customers on its banking app. According to the bank, its clients are able to stay safe and bank from home using its banking app, and benefit from lower transaction fees and zero data charges. At the end of August 2020, Capitec said there were 4 million app users versus 2.9 million in the same period in 2019. The banking group added that it recorded 5.2 million USSD users at the end of August 2020 compared to 4.7 million in 2019. “Certain clients use both the app and…

Blue Label Telecoms has published its annual report for 2020, showing how much its joint chief executive officers were paid. Blue Label joint-CEOs Mark and Brett Levy were paid a combined R26 million – taking home just under R13 million each. The salaries comprise a basic salary of R9.7 million. In addition to the basic salary of R9.733 million each, the joint CEOs will receive R3.3 million each in line with the restraint of trade agreement that was concluded with them in November 2017. The tenure of the restraint of trade undertaking is 36 months, which commenced on 1 November…