DLA Piper advises Allied Electronics Corporation on disposal of UK subsidiary

DLA Piper has advised Allied Electronics Corporation Limited (Altron), a public company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), on the disposal of its UK subsidiary, Bytes Technology Limited, to Bytes Technology Group plc, a newly incorporated entity which listed on the London Stock Exchange and the JSE on 17 December 2020 as part of the transaction.

DLA Piper also advised Bytes Technology Group on its secondary inward listing to the Main Board of the JSE. The transaction follows Altron’s announcement in April 2020 to demerge and separately list its UK business, Bytes UK, to unlock value for shareholders and streamline operations.

Altron provides innovative and integrated ICT solutions to business, government and consumers, and has an international footprint across Africa, Australia and the Middle East.

The DLA Piper team was led by South Africa Corporate Location Head, Peter Bradshaw, supported by Ebrahim Shaikh and Menzi Jali (both Corporate associates) with a Tax team consisting of Andrew Lewis (director) and Benjamin Mbana (senior associate). The Corporate team in the UK was led by Amar Maan (partner) and supported by Bryony Lunn (senior associate).

DLA Piper Corporate location head, Peter Bradshaw, commented: “We were privileged to act as lead counsel for Altron on this complex, multi-jurisdictional deal that has created tremendous value for Altron shareholders. This deal played to our strengths, working as a highly efficient and coordinated team to serve our client under very tight timeframes.”