South African tech tycoon Jens Montanana to earn $17.91 million in special dividend from Datatec

Jens Montanana, a South African multimillionaire tech tycoon, is set to receive a special dividend of £16.18 million ($17.91 million) from Datatec after the Johannesburg-based multinational tech firm revealed plans to reward shareholders with compelling dividends.

The $17.9-million dividend that he is set to receive will be paid directly from the group’s initial consideration from the sale of Analysys Mason to UK fund manager Bridgepoint Development Capital (BDC).

Following the sale of Analysys Mason as part of a move to unlock value from its investment in the tech industry, Datatec received approval from its board of directors last week to pay out £135.1 million ($149.5 million) to shareholders in the form of a special cash dividend of R12.50 ($0.68) per share.

According to the terms of the agreement signed with the Montanana-led group, BDC paid $260 million for all of Analysys Mason’s issued shares via Aramis Bidco, a new company formed for the transaction.

Datatec is a South African provider of ICT solutions and services, specializing in software and cloud computing solutions such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (SaaS). It is the 119th most valuable company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of R9.14 billion ($507.5 million).

Under the leadership of Montanana, who founded Datatec the South African tech company in 1986 and owns a significant 11.98-percent stake in the firm, has grown to become an industry leader. It now maintains active operations in more than 50 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

The $17.91-million dividend from Datatec, which will be paid into Montanana’s account on Dec. 5, comes nearly a year after he received an $8.34 million dividend from the Johannesburg-based tech firm.

Last year, Datatec announced the payment of a special dividend of $70 million (R1 billion) from the cash consideration it received from Westcon International, a distributor of industry-leading cybersecurity network infrastructure.