On Wednesday, 10 September, Renergen informed shareholders that the PIC sold 3.95 million Renergen shares.
This decreased the PIC’s shareholding from 6.92% of the total Renergen share capital to only owning around 4.4% of Renergen.
The announcement explained that the PIC held 6.78 million Renergen shares on 9 September, down from its previous stake of 10.74 million shares.
Based on Renergen’s closing share price on 9 September, the PIC sold R52.98 million worth of Renergen shares.
The PIC is South Africa’s largest asset manager, with over R3 trillion in assets under management.
The investment giant manages the Government Employees Pension Fund and therefore manages pensions and related benefits on behalf of government employees in South Africa.
The PIC runs a diversified investment portfolio which comprises multiple asset classes. These include listed equities, real estate, capital market, private equity, and impact investing.
Through its listed investments, the PIC controls over 10% of the JSE, with large stakes in well-known companies like Woolworths, Clicks, and Sibanye-Stillwater.
While it is unclear when the PIC first acquired a stake in Renergen, its shareholding reached 9.88% of the company’s total issued share capital in 2021.
Since mid-2022, Renergen saw its share price fall from over R40 per share to just over R3 per share.
This was due to the company repeatedly missing its own deadlines for helium production and its failure to produce and sell liquid helium profitably since launch.
The company’s financial health has also struggled as a result of these failures, with the company yet to become profitable since it was founded over a decade ago.
However, in 2025, the company saw its share price jump back to around R13 per share.
This was largely in reaction to the news in May that Renergen is set to be acquired by NASDAQ-listed ASP Isotopes, which also recently listed on the JSE.
ASP Isotopes is a development-stage advanced materials company focused on developing technology and processes for the production of isotopes for use in multiple industries.
The company hopes that adding Renergen to its stable will expand its business and allow it to tap into the helium market, a resource considered a critical material in various supply chains, similar to isotopes.
While this acquisition will see Renergen delist from the JSE, ASP Isotopes recently attained a secondary listing on the local stock exchange.
The deal has received shareholder approval and is expected to close later in 2025, likely in September.
Issued on Daily Investor by Blanke Neethling | https://dailyinvestor.com/business/101666/south-africas-largest-asset-manager-dumps-renergen-shares/
