Theo Botha

Theophilous James Bennett "Theo" Botha (born 1 March 1960) is a South African shareholder activist.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} He has queried many companies in the area of good corporate governance,^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]} ethics,^{[17][18][19][20]} executive compensation,^[21][22][23] environmental practices^[24] and Black Economic Empowerment.^[25][26][27] He has also criticized South African corporate governance guidelines as too lenient.^[28]

Theo Botha first decided to pursue shareholder activism after an investment in a small life insurance company (The Sage Group).^[29] The company was making huge losses in the United States that it refused to disclose to the South African shareholders.^[6]

In a press interview it was found that "Botha doesn’t appear to be making money off this enterprise; in most instances he buys only one share."^{[7][excessive citations]}

Activism

Botha's usual approach is not unlike his first encounter with Sage in which all he did was pose a few questions which usually make the companies in question edgy.^{[citation needed]} He spends time going through company financial reports to note discrepancies which he will use to compile his questions which he asks during company AGM's.^{[citation needed]}

The South African companies Botha has confronted include The Sage Group,^[29] Sappi,^[30][31]Absa,^[32][33] Sasol,^[34][35] SABMiller,^[36][37] Pick n Pay Stores,^[23][38] Tiger Brands,^[39] Avusa,^[40] Anglo Platinum,^[17][41][42] Pretoria Portland Cement Company,^[16][24] Mutual & Federal,^[21] Bidvest,^[11][12][27] Wesizwe Platinum,^[43] and Liberty Holdings Limited.^[44]

References

This page was last edited on 10 February 2024, at 05:13