Van Rooyen family pumps N$297m into debt-ridden Trustco

Trustco Group Holdings Limited’s founder Quinton van Rooyen and his family have once again stepped in to prop up Trustco’s finances, taking on N$297 million in international debt from one of its investment subsidiaries.

On Tuesday, the company released a statement announcing that Next Capital (Pty) Limited, owned by Quinton van Rooyen and his family, has taken over N$297 million in international debt from a Trustco subsidiary, pushing Trustco’s total debt to Next Capital to N$5.12 billion.

This debt package includes different types of financial obligations, such as secured and unsecured debts, interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing components, as well as equity-linked debt.

Following this move, Next Capital now holds 70% of the Group’s long-term debt.

This announcement comes as Trustco prepares to delist from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and move towards a listing on the Nasdaq.

Quinton Zandre van Rooyen, deputy chief executive of Trustco, said the acquisition by Next Capital is as a strategic step to strengthen Trustco’s financial position ahead of this transition.

“This debt acquisition by the founding family represents another vote of confidence, not only in Trustco’s future as we transition to the Nasdaq, but also in Namibia’s growing long-term economic prospects,” van Rooyen said.

He said the move is about creating a foundation that aligns Trustco’s debt holders to its vision of opening new markets and new opportunities.

“The next chapter is set to position Trustco to be the gateway of choice for foreign private investment into Namibia,” van Rooyen said.

In June last year, Trustco announced that it converted N$4.4 billion of debt into equity.

Debt owed to Next Capital and Quinton van Rooyen was swapped for new ordinary Trustco shares at a rate of N$1.17 per share, marking a substantial 350% premium over Trustco’s 90-day volume weighted average price