Saudi giant officially takes over South African company for R23 billion
Barloworld has been formally taken over by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Zahid Group, with the company now set to exit the JSE and A2X.
Barloworld is a JSE-listed industrial company and is the only distributor of Caterpillar construction equipment in Southern Africa.
The company has now been acquired by Newco, which comprises Gulf Falcon Holding, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Zahid Group, and Entsha, a company linked to Barloworld CEO Dominic Sewela.
In November 2025, Barlworld told shareholders that Newco’s R23 billion Standy Offer was closed, having been accepted by 97.6% of the Standy Offer Shares.
Newco announced that it intended to invoke section 123 of the Companies Act to acquire all of the Barloworld Ordinary Shares already held compulsorily for R120, which is known as a squeeze-out.
The squeeze-out was successful, and Newco’s compulsory acquisition of the remaining Barloworld Shares took place on 22 January 2026, having paid the necessary consideration for the shares.
The company has now announced that the Barlworld Ordinary Shares will be delisted from the JSE and A2X on Tuesday, 27 January.
The takeover has faced criticism from pre-consortium shareholders, who were alarmed by Sewela’s involvement in the deal.
The original Scheme Arrangement for the takeover failed to receive the requisite shareholder approval, which triggered a standby offer.
The offer was also recently increased following a ruling by the Takeover Regulation Panel that an additional R225 million was required due to changes to the scheme consideration and the standby offer.
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