South Africa’s newest billionaire CEO cashing in R1.3 billion in shares

Zak Calisto, the founder and CEO of Karooooo, is looking to sell $75 million (R1.3 billion) of his shares in the company.

Calisto owns 65% of Karooooo shares, with another 10% of the company tied to him via a standing agreement, giving him beneficial voting rights.

He joined the dollar billionaire club earlier this year, when the company’s market cap grew to $1.65 billion, pushing his net worth over $1 billion and making him the eighth richest man in the country.

Karooooo owns Cartrack and provides fleet management, stolen vehicle recovery and insurance telematics services. It was founded in 2001 and listed on the JSE in 2014.

The group has now announced the pricing of an underwritten secondary public offering of 1.5 million shares held by Calisto.

The shares will sell to the public at $50 per ordinary share, a discount from the current market price of $59.

The gross proceeds from the sale will net Calisto roughly $75 million (R1.3 billion). 

The underwriters of the offering will also have a 30-day option to purchase up to 225,000 ordinary shares from the selling shareholder at the public offering price, worth roughly $13 million (R230 million).

Karooooo is not selling any ordinary shares in the Offering and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of any ordinary shares by Calisto.

However, it will bear the costs associated with the sale of such shares, other than any underwriting conditions, which Calisto will bear.

His shareholding in the company will still, however, remain at 58% following the sale, which could drop to 57.27% if the option to purchase additional shares is exercised in full.

Despite the sale of his shares, the Karooooo CEO has hatched a way to keep voting control of the company.

The group noted that Juan Marias, the Chief Sales Officer of Karooooo, who holds 10.52% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares via One Spire, has reached an agreement with Calisto.

If the CEO’s beneficial ownership falls below 51% of issued and outstanding shares, One Spire will cast all votes regarding its ordinary shares as directed by Calisto.

The sale of the shares expected to close on June 13, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.