Suspended executive wants Numsa Investment Company liquidated

Trade union investment company NIC Investments, a subsidiary of the Numsa Investment Company (NIC), is facing a liquidation application over an alleged R32.5-million debt owed to Altrex Investments and its executive chairperson, Khandani Msibi.

Msibi, who is also the suspended chief executive of NIC, has approached the court seeking the winding-up of NIC Investments, arguing that its failure to settle the debt is evidence of commercial insolvency.

Altrex Investments is a shareholder entity linked to the Numsa Investment Company, the investment arm of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).

According to court papers seen by Sunday World, the debt comprises R30-million allegedly owed to Altrex Investments and a separate R2.5-million loan Msibi claims he advanced to NIC Investments in his personal capacity.

The dispute originates from a share purchase agreement concluded on January 23, 2024, between Altrex, NIC and NIC Investments.

In his founding affidavit, Msibi said Altrex agreed to purchase 38.8-million shares in Doves Group Holdings (DGH) from NIC Investments for R50-million, representing 40% of DGH’s issued share capital.

Doves is one of Southern Africa’s largest funeral directing and life insurance businesses. NIC Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Numsa Investment Company, is a shareholder in DGH, the parent company of life insurer 3SixtyLife, which has been under curatorship since December 2021.

Msibi said Altrex paid R42-million towards the acquisition through direct payments to NIC and payments made to the Numsa Investment Company on behalf of NIC Investments. The shares were subsequently transferred to Altrex.

However, the relationship later deteriorated amid disagreements over Altrex’s intention to sell the shares and disputes over the management of DGH.

The conflict escalated into litigation earlier this year involving NIC, Altrex and Msibi over their respective rights and obligations arising from the agreement and the governance of DGH.

“Despite Altrex and me contesting the validity of the termination on 21 August 2026, Altrex elected, while reserving its rights to act on NIC’s termination of the SPA, and communicated to NIC that it would deliver the share certificate in respect of the sales shares to it by 26 August 2026,” said Msibi.

According to the applicants, the termination of the agreement and the return of the shares triggered an obligation on NIC Investments to repay certain amounts to Altrex.

Although Altrex had initially paid R42-million towards the transaction, it is now claiming R20-million related to the share acquisition and a further R10-million linked to an outstanding loan balance that NIC allegedly acknowledged in the agreement.

The application also centres on a R2.5-million loan Msibi claims he advanced to NIC Investments. Msibi rejected NIC’s challenge to the validity of the loan agreement.

“NIC make the scant and unsubstantiated allegation that the loan agreement is forgery and that no such loan agreement was concluded between me and the NIC. In doing so, NIC does not deny receipt of this amount, nor does it posit any alternative explanation for why it would have received this amount from me.”

Referring to an email attached to his court papers, Msibi alleged that acting Numsa Investment Company CEO Osborn Mahanjana had instructed Yolandi Diko to append his signature to the agreement.

Mahanjana has strongly disputed Msibi’s version, denying that he signed the alleged R2.5-million loan agreement.

He said the electronic signature appearing on the document was not his, that he never received the agreement and that he never instructed Diko to sign on his behalf.