HARARE — Old Mutual’s two employee share trusts picked up a combined 10.5 million ordinary shares on the open market over 13 and 14 October, spending about R140.6 million, or roughly $8.53 million at mid-October exchange rates near R16.48 to the dollar.
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Employee Trust accounted for 6.22 million of those shares, valued at around $5.05 million. The separate Old Mutual Limited Employee Trust took the remaining 4.28 million shares, worth approximately $3.48 million. Average prices worked out to about R13.39, or roughly 81 US cents a share, with the actual deals ranging from the low 80s to just under 82 cents depending on the day’s trading.
These were straightforward on-market purchases done to hedge existing awards under the Employee Share Ownership Plan and Long-term Incentive Plan.
The company recorded them as indirect beneficial interests and confirmed it had the necessary clearance under the JSE rules. The filing, dated 16 October, is one in a short series of similar notices this month; the trusts had already bought additional blocks on 9 and 12 October.
Old Mutual runs operations across a dozen African countries and maintains its secondary listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange in Zimbabwe after shifting it from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange earlier in 2026. The move ended a multi-year trading suspension and lets Zimbabwean holders trade the stock in US dollars. The share purchases themselves were reported in rand and executed on the JSE, but they sit against that broader dual-listed structure.
The volume is noticeable—about a quarter of a percent of the group’s roughly 4 billion shares in issue—yet it is still routine hedging rather than a strategic stake-building exercise. The company has not added further colour beyond the regulatory disclosure.
Analysts covering the stock have kept their focus on operating performance, the recent share-repurchase programme, and the practical effects of the VFEX listing for local investors, rather than on these particular trust transactions.
Market discussion continues to treat the activity as consistent with Old Mutual’s long-standing employee-ownership and empowerment arrangements.
