Three months later, the deal has drawn attention for different reasons.
Deal structure and concerns
Pepkor will own 57.1% of the combined entity, FintechCo. Pieter Erasmus, the company’s chief executive officer, stands to indirectly own 13.2% of FintechCo, worth roughly R2.8 billion at the deal’s valuation. Pepkor obtained independent valuations and a voluntary fair opinion, but JSE rules did not require a shareholder vote because the deal is classified as a Category 2 transaction. This classification requires public disclosure but not approval.
Erasmus’s link to Shop2Shop is not new. An associated company owned 31.2% of Shop2Shop before the merger, and the two companies had been doing business together since 2020. Pepkor disclosed those relationships in previous financial statements. Some directors and investors believe shareholders should have been allowed to vote on a transaction of this size, especially one where the CEO has a financial interest. A shareholder vote would have given investors a direct say on that conflict.
Financial-services revenue jumped 41.6% in the first half of 2026, and the group plans to launch a bank in April 2027. As more of Pepkor’s growth comes from finance and payments—as it eyes banking—as well as other private deals, investors will care just as much about how those businesses are put together and how fast they grow.
Price advantage in Durban
Eskom has opened its first public electric vehicle charging stations in Durban, South Africa. Each station has two fast direct-current (DC) charging ports capable of delivering up to 120 kilowatts (kW), plus one alternating-current (AC) port offering up to 22kW.
Drivers can charge at Eskom’s new DC chargers for R5.88 ($0.045) per kilowatt-hour (kWh). That rate is 20% cheaper than R7.35 ($0.057) at GridCars’ public stations. For a driver buying 50 kWh of electricity, that means paying R294 ($2.27) at an Eskom station instead of R367.5 ($2.83) at GridCars, saving about R73.50 ($0.57) on a single charge. Eskom says its pilot pricing follows existing tariffs and regulations, though some industry players have raised concerns about potential lower demand charges at certain sites.
South Africa recorded sales of over 16,000 new-energy vehicles in 2025, but expanding the public charging network remains important to making electric driving more practical, especially for drivers who cannot charge at home or travel frequently between cities.
Broader market activity and listings
Banque du Caire, the sixth-largest commercial bank in Egypt by assets, announced plans to sell a 30% stake on the stock exchange. This follows MNT-Halan, an e-commerce platform, which listed earlier in October 2026.
It gathers Nigeria’s technology, creative, and defence communities to discuss homegrown innovation.
Regional investment access
Dangote Refinery adjusted its timeline for the initial public offering. Originally set to close on October 13, the offer extends to October 27. Bloomberg reported the change on Monday.
Many people want in: In Kenya, Renaissance Capital, a Kenyan investment bank, worked on a new vehicle that would allow Kenyan investors to participate in the IPO through Kenya’s stock exchange, for KES 49 ($0.38) per share. Dangote has regulatory approval to sell additional equity if demand warrants it, potentially raising to $2.1 billion, but the company has not said that the extension itself will trigger a larger offer.
Quickmart has already opened the offer, with full trading expected by November 12. Join us on October 28 & 29, 2026.
