Holding Ltd. 将其金融科技部门与一家竞争对手业务合并的交易引发了一些董事和投资者的不满，因为股东未被允许对一项标志着非洲最大服装零售商战略重大转变的交易进行投票。
Holding Ltd.’s deal to merge its fintech arm with a rival business has upset some directors and investors because shareholders were not allowed to vote on a transaction that marks a major shift in strategy for Africa’s biggest clothing retailer.
根据一位熟悉情况但不愿具名的人士透露，一些董事反对了非洲最大零售商将其 Flash 部门与 Shop2Shop 在七月合并以成立一家估值约为 210 亿兰特（约 13 亿美元）公司的决定，因为董事会投票未公开。
Some directors voted against the decision by Africa’s biggest retailer to combine its Flash arm with Shop2Shop in July to create a company valued at about 21 billion rand ($1.3 billion), according to a person familiar with the situation who didn’t want to be named because the board vote isn’t public.
这些董事反对缺乏投资者参与，而前 30 名投资者之一的 Aeon 投资管理有限公司表示，股东应就一项交易进行投票，在这项交易中，Pepkor 首席执行官 Pieter Erasmus 也存在明显的财务利益冲突。
The directors objected to the lack of investor involvement while a top 30 investor, Aeon Investment Management Ltd., said shareholders should have voted on a deal where Pepkor Chief Executive Officer Pieter Erasmus also has a clear financial conflict of interest.
Pepkor 将拥有合并后金融科技集团的 57.1% 股权，而 Erasmus — — 他曾在 Shop2Shop 持有少数股权 — — 将根据交易的隐含估值拥有价值约 28 亿兰特的 13.2% 股权。该比例可能在交易完成前发生变化。
Pepkor will own 57.1% of the enlarged fintech group, while Erasmus — who held a minority position in Shop2Shop — will own a 13.2% stake valued at about 2.8 billion rand based on the transaction’s implied valuation. That could change before the deal is completed.
根据约翰内斯堡证券交易所规则，该交易无需股东批准，因为它未达到交易所对关联方交易的门槛要求。根据 Pepkor 的说法，Erasmus 在涉及该合并的审议和决策过程中已回避。
The transaction doesn’t require shareholder approval under Johannesburg Stock Exchange rules because it doesn’t meet the exchange’s threshold for a related-party transaction. Erasmus recused himself from deliberations and decisions concerning the merger, according to Pepkor.
尽管如此，根据持有 Pepkor 0.4% 股权的 Aeon 首席执行官 Asief Mohammed 的说法，征求股东意见本应能体现更好的公司治理。根据一位不愿具名的熟悉情况的人士透露，一些董事反对该交易，因为他们认为应将该交易提交股东投票。董事会投票未公开。
Even so, seeking shareholders’ views would have demonstrated better corporate governance, according to Asief Mohammed, chief executive officer of Aeon, which holds a 0.4% stake in Pepkor. Some directors voted against the transaction as they believed it should be put to shareholders, according to a person familiar with the situation that didn’t want to be named because the board vote isn’t public.
“如果他们这样做，情况会更好，”穆罕默德说。“寻求股东批准将是良好的治理。”穆罕默德表示，佩普科可以提出一项自愿的、不具约束力的股东决议，让投资者表达他们的意见，同时让董事会对交易承担最终责任。“你可以这样做，然后在必要时可以进行接触，”他说。
“It would have gone down better had they done it,” Mohammed said. “Seeking shareholder approval would have been good governance.”Mohammed said Pepkor could have offered a voluntary, non-binding shareholder resolution, letting investors express their views while leaving ultimate responsibility for the transaction with directors. “You could do that, and then you can maybe engage if necessary,” he said.
佩普科表示，它对两家企业进行了独立估值，并获得了自愿的独立公平合理性意见。
Pepkor says it obtained independent valuations of both businesses and a voluntary independent fair-and-reasonable opinion.
零售商拒绝透露有多少名董事个人投了赞成票，理由是董事会程序的保密性。对该交易的治理担忧正随着佩普科深入金融服务领域以寻找其核心折扣零售业务之外的新增长来源而出现。
The retailer declined to disclose how many individual directors had voted in favor of the deal, citing the confidentiality of board proceedings. Governance concerns over the deal come as Pepkor pushes deeper into financial services to find new sources of growth beyond its core discount-retail operations.
总部位于开普敦的Flash为17万名非正式商户提供服务，使他们能够销售话费、移动数据和预付电等虚拟产品。Shop2Shop是另一个面向非正式商户的支付平台，用户超过21万。
Cape Town-based Flash serves 170,000 informal traders, enabling them to sell virtual products such as airtime, mobile data and prepaid electricity. Shop2Shop is another payment platform for informal traders with more than 210,000 users.
佩普科表示，将Flash和Shop2Shop合并将扩大其支付、贷款和商户商业务，并为其计划中的数字银行拓宽分销渠道。该公司计划在中期内上市这家新公司——FintechCo。
Pepkor has said combining Flash and Shop2Shop will expand its payments, lending and merchant-commerce businesses and broaden distribution for its planned digital bank. It plans to list the new firm — FintechCo — in the medium term.
佩普科的股价今年已下跌31%，而八成分的富时/JSE零售指数仅下跌25%。
Pepkor’s stock has dropped 31% this year, compared with a 25% decline on the eight-member FTSE/JSE Retailers Index.