Battle for N$23m ErongoMed shares

MATHIAS HAUFIKU WINDHOEKTension is simmering within the Erongo Medical Group (EMG) stable after one of its shareholders dragged his partners to court over a N$23 million deal which saw some of the group’s shares sold to a local private equity fund manager.The private healthcare group owns the Welwitschia Hospital in Walvis Bay and has interests in radiology and telemedicine among other segments. It also runs Ongwediva Medipark as well as Medixx Occupational Health Services.EMG shareholder Dr Tshali Ithete, through his company Diversified Medical Investments, launched a court case in May seeking an order to reverse the sale of the shares which saw Eos Capital’s special purpose vehicle - Allegrow Fund - acquiring a minority stake in the group.The case comes less than six months after EMG sold 510 shares valued at N$23.3 million Allegrow - allegedly without following due procedures.Ithete said the shares were sold despite him having indicated that he wanted to purchase the shares offered by his partners.He argued that the EMG shareholders’ agreement makes provision for shareholders to get the first right to buy any shares being sold before such shares are sold to third parties.The private equity firm was co-founded by Bank of Namibia governor Johannes !Gawaxab, who has since resigned from the company after his appointment as governor. His daughter has since replaced him.Eos Capital is one of the Government Institutions Pension Fund’s (GIPF) unlisted fund managers.The claimsCourt papers show that Ithete dragged his business partners to court, demanding that the shares sold by five of his partners to Allegrow must be set aside.The information is contained in court affidavits, shareholders agreements and email correspondence filed in the High Court last month.In the application, Ithete claimed his partners did not stick to the company’s shareholders’ agreement.It all started on 8 September 2020 when Eos Capital made an offer to purchase the shares in EMG. Two weeks later, an email was dispatched to all shareholders notifying them about the offer and for them to indicate whether they would be interested to buy the shares put up for sale by some of the other shareholders.EMG shareholders Brian Douglas Roberts Family Trust, Hofmeyer Viljoen, Pitout Family Trust, Mathias Braune Family Trust and Dr Chris Wessels Fourie all offered to sell a portion of their shares, which made up a combined offer of 510 shares valued at N$23.3 million. They are all cited in court documents as defendants.Other defendants include EMG, Allegrow and Sage Secretarial Services.Apart from Sage, all the defendants filed their notices to defend their case in the matter on Tuesday. The defendants are all represented by Lorentz Angula Incorporated. Share pricesAllegrow paid N$45 698.92 per share to each shareholder.The Brian Douglas Roberts Family Trust received N$11.1 million for the 244 shares it sold; Viljoen received N$3.9 million for 86 shares; Pitout Family Trust received N$3.4 million for 76 shares; Mathias Braune Family Trust received N$3.3 million for 74 shares and Dr Chris Wessels Fourie received N$1.3 million for 30 shares.Ithete responded on 24 September 2020 that he would like to purchase his partners’ shares, court documents showed. “In line with Section 9 of the Shareholder’s Agreement, Diversified Medical Investments hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its pre-emptive right to acquire the available 510 shares at the same price that these shares were offered to EOS Capital,” Ithete wrote.He said he then entered into a written agreement with his partners, but to his surprise, the shares ended up being sold to Allegrow anyway.Ithete now wants the court to set aside that decision, saying the sale agreement between Allegrow and his partners is in breach of the agreement he had previously entered into with his partners.

Battle for N$23m ErongoMed shares

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-07

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Battle for N$23m ErongoMed shares

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-07

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