Johannesburg - Media24 has announced its approval of the unbundling of the majority of its shareholding in printing company, Novus Holdings [JSE:NVS] to Naspers [JSE:NPN].
Media24 gave the green light to the unbundling, comprising of approximately 151,8 million Novus shares, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The announcement comes after the Competition Tribunal approved a merger filing between the two companies on August 3, this year.
Media24 will retain a non-controlling 19% stake in the company.
In April, the Competition Commission recommended that Media24 divest its majority shareholding of Novus Holdings to its shareholders and retain a non-controlling 19% stake in the company.
Media24 announced its intention to list Novus on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in February.
On November 25 2015 the Competition Appeal Court ruled that the implementation of the restated management agreement leading up to the listing gave rise to a change in control over Novus.
A merger between Media24, Novus Holdings - formerly Paarl Media Group - and the Natal Witness was approved by the Competition Tribunal in 2012.
Prior to the merger, the Competition Commission and Caxton publishers and printers had provided submissions on potential competition and public interest concerns with the merger.
Former Novus chairperson Lambert Retief, who passed away in January this year, decided against his decision to retire and sell the minority shares under his control in 2014, of which Media24 now owns the majority share.
Retief had built up Novus (previously Paarl Media) from a family business in Paarl and began trading on the JSE in 2015.
Novus Holdings posted a revenue increase of 4.5% in the six months ended September 30 2016, despite tough trading conditions.
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