South African tycoon Gus Attridge gains nearly $8 million in 16 days

Yusuf Abdulfatai -

South African multimillionaire executive Michael Guy Attridge (Gus Attridge) has seen a significant increase in the market value of his stake in Aspen Pharmacare as shares in the leading pharmaceutical company surge by single-digit percent on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The market value of Attridge’s 4.26-percent stake in the Durban-based pharmaceutical company has surged by R145.34 million ($7.93 million) over the past 16 days, due to the heightened buying interest from local investors.

The recent upswing follows a gain of $19.64 million that Attridge recorded between Oct. 26 and Dec. 2, when the market value of his stake in Aspen Pharmacare increased from R3.16 billion ($169.41 million)  to R3.52 billion ($189.06 million).

Aspen shares surge by 4.12 percent, returning millions of dollars to shareholders

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings is a South African multinational pharmaceutical holding company co-founded by leading pharma tycoons Stephen Saad and Attridge 25 years ago.

Since Dec. 4, the share price of Aspen Pharmacare on the JSE has surged by 4.12 percent, rising from R185.26 ($10.114) on Dec. 4 to R192.90 ($10.537) at the time of writing, resulting in substantial gains amounting to millions of dollars for its shareholders.

Gus Attridge’s Aspen stake soars above $200 million

Attridge, Aspen’s group chief advisor who ranks as one of JSE’s richest investors, owns a 4.26-percent stake in the pharma group. His stake, which equates to 19,024,134 ordinary shares in the leading drug group, is presently worth R3.5 billion ($189.06 million).

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, the recent surge in Aspen shares has caused the market stake of Attridge’s stake in Aspen to increase by R145.34 million ($7.93 million) — from R3.52 billion ($192.35 million) on Dec. 4 to R3.67 billion ($200.28 million).

The surge in his stake further establishes his position as one of South Africa’s wealthiest individuals and also one of the top investors on the JSE.