South African mogul Adrian Gore’s Discovery announces secondary listing on A2X markets

Discovery Limited, a South African financial services group led by leading businessman Adrian Gore, has announced a secondary listing on A2X Markets to supplement its primary listing and provide investors with a competitively priced option to transact in its shares.

“Shareholders and noteholders are hereby advised that Discovery’s ordinary shares have been approved for inclusion in the list of qualifying equity securities to be traded on the A2X exchange in South Africa with effect from July 4, 2022,” Discovery announced.

A2X Markets is a Sandton-based stock exchange founded in 2014 by Sean Melnick, Ashley Mendelowitz, and Kevin Brady to provide a new stock exchange that will drive healthy competition to the South African marketplace by providing companies with a secondary listing option.

While Discovery will continue to trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the planned listing will increase the number of instruments available for trade on A2X to 69, with a combined market capitalization of approximately R4.5 trillion ($280.5 billion).

On the A2X exchange, Discovery will join Naspers, Nedbank, Nepi Rockcastle, Prosus, Remgro, Sanlam, Sasol, Standard Bank, Aspen, Exxaro, Implats, Investec Ltd., Mr Price, and Investec Plc, which are all Top40 Index constituents on the JSE.

In addition to providing an additional platform for investors to trade the company’s shares, the planned listing on A2X will provide additional liquidity, lower exchange fees, and narrower spreads for investors interested in buying or trading the company’s shares.

While commenting on the planned listing, Brady, A2X’s CEO, stated that Discovery has become the undisputed market leader in shared-value insurance since its inception three decades ago. “We are very excited to welcome them to our market next week,” he said.

Discovery is a South African-based global financial services firm that specializes in long- and short-term insurance, asset management, savings, investment, and employee benefits. Discovery Bank, its digital-only bank, recently reached 1 million accounts just two years after its launch.

The financial services group’s recent decision to list on A2X Markets comes nearly four months after it collaborated with AIA Group, a Hong Kong-based international insurance and finance corporation, to establish a pan-Asian health insurance technology business.

Gore, a prominent businessman who founded the financial services group as a medical insurer in 1992, owns a sizable 7.48-percent stake in the Sandton-based company. His holding is presently worth R6.9 billion ($430.5 million).