Listed Companies
Hulamin Containers (Hulamin) has disposed of its operational assets, including presses and moulds, to Wyda Packaging, the South African operation of Brazilian Wyda Embalagens. The operation supplies rigid aluminium foil containers used in catering, baking and household applications. Financial details were undisclosed.
Sustent Holdings, the special purpose vehicle formed by Mergence Investment Managers and Creation Capital, has increased the offer it made to Mahube Infrastructure minority shareholders in December 2025. The offer has been increased to R6.00 from R5.50 per share, and the revised consideration will not be reduced by any normal dividends to be paid by the company. The scheme meeting has accordingly been delayed to 11 May 2026 and should the scheme be approved by shareholders, the company’s listing will be terminated on 14 July 2026.
Unlisted Companies
Shell plc is in negotiations with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to sell its South African fuel station network. Should the parties reach agreement, acquiring Shell’s 600 retail fuel outlets will give ADNOC c.10% of the local market. Market talk values the deal at roughly US$1 billion (R16,3 billion) with an agreement possibly in place by end-June 2026.
Refiant AI has raised US$5 million seed funding in a round led by California-based climate technology investor VoLo Earth Ventures. The South African startup builds tools that compress and restructure AI models to make them more efficient, lowering the computational requirements of AI systems while maintaining performance and allowing them to run on smaller devices or local infrastructure. The funding will be used to scale the team at Refiant AI, to build out a platform and to accelerate enterprise partnerships.
South African medtech company AI Diagnostics has raised R85 million in a pre-Series A funding round to accelerate deployment of its AI-powered Ostium digital stethoscope – which enables early tuberculosis screening without specialist equipment or infrastructure. The round was led by The Steele Foundation for Hope, with participation from the iFSP Group and the Global Innovation Fund. Previous rounds included Africa Health Ventures and Savant.
iVeri Payment Technologies, the creator of technology for banks and businesses which facilitates multiple-channel transaction acceptance, has been acquired by entrepreneur Jonathan Smit, the founder of Payfast. iVeri assists customers to create a profitable and sustainable business by enabling them to implement the right transactional channels for their market environment. Financial details were undisclosed.
End-to-end data management solutions and services provider Data Management Professionals South Africa (DMPSA) has acquired a stake in local software development specialist Plastic Duck Armada (PDA). PDA is a digital and graphic design, web development and online platform creation company. The acquisition will bolster DMPSA’s ability to deliver automated, insight-led data management at scale. Financial details were not disclosed.
Lions Bay Resources (LBR), in which AIM-listed Metals One has a 30% stake following the exercise of its right to secure the equity stake via the conversion of US$1.8 million of convertible loan notes, has submitted two revised offers to the business rescue practitioners overseeing Vantage Goldfields. These include a R279 million offer for the Barbrook Mines assets in Mpumalanga, which host a 2.1 million ounce gold resource, and a nominal R1 offer for the gold mining company Makonjwaan Imperial Mining, which includes the Lily mine, in Mpumalanga, and associated deposits totalling 2.3 million ounces. The offers remain subject to creditor approval and LBR securing a minimum of $7 million in additional funding.
DealMakers is SA’s quarterly M&A publication.
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