Balwin has a secured pipeline of 26,334 apartments across 32 developments over more than 10 years.
Image: Balwin
Shares in Balwin Properties jumped more than 9% after it said its founders and the Public Investment Corporation would delist the developer in a deal called Project Beacon as it was trading at a discount.
Balwin’s share price climbed from R3.84 to R4.19 after the announcement was released to the market on Wednesday. This morning, they had cooled somewhat, trading at R4.15.
The proposed deal would see a newly created company called Bidco buy out remaining shareholders at R4.35 per share, valuing the company at R2.3 billion. Balwin is currently worth R2.16 billion on the JSE.
Bidco is controlled by Balwin CEO Stephen Brookes through Volker Holdings. The consortium also includes Balwin MD Rodney Gray, GRE Africa and the Public Investment Corporation acting on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund.
If the deal goes ahead, the Public Investment Corporation and the Government Employees Pension Fund will be the majority shareholder, while Volker Holdings would own about a third.
Balwin said the consortium believed the company’s JSE listing no longer made sense because of weak trading liquidity, the discount between the share price and the company’s underlying asset value, and the costs of remaining listed.
Founded in 1996 by Brookes, Balwin has become one of South Africa’s biggest apartment and lifestyle estate developers. The company listed on the JSE in 2015 and has developments across Johannesburg, Tshwane, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Balwin said it completed its 100th development in 2025.
Balwin's shares soared on news of a takeover bid.
Image: Google
According to the company’s latest numbers, Balwin generated R2.7 billion in revenue and reported headline earnings per share of 47.72 cents in 2026. The group’s net asset value per share stood at R9.77.
The company also said it has a secured pipeline of 26,334 apartments across 32 developments over more than 10 years.
The R4.35 per share offer represents a 23.15% premium to Balwin’s 30-day average share price. Several shareholders have already backed the transaction, representing about 63.5% of the shares eligible to vote in the scheme.
Balwin said an independent board had appointed Valeo Capital to assess whether the offer is fair and reasonable.
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