Laurie Dippenaar, a South African banker, has suffered a large fall in the market value of his holding in FirstRand due to the ongoing slide in the shares of the leading financial services business on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Dippenaar’s share in FirstRand has fallen by R487.7 million ($25.65 million) over the last 17 days, as local market investors continue to cut their holdings in the Johannesburg-based company.
This latest setback follows Dippenaar’s $28-million loss between January 1 and 25, when the market value of his FirstRand stake fell from R7.26 billion ($384.85 million) to R6.72 billion ($356.21 million).
FirstRand is Africa’s largest financial services firm by market capitalization. Its integrated financial services business includes FNB, RMB, WesBank, and Aldermore, with active operations in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Africa’s regional markets.
FirstRand’s share price has decreased by 7.16 percent, from R68.95 ($3.626) on Jan. 26 to R64.01 ($3.366) at the time of this report. This collapse has reduced its market valuation to under $20 billion, resulting in severe losses for stockholders, including Dippenaar.
Dippenaar, who co-founded Rand Consolidated Investing with GT Ferreira and Paul Harris in 1977 and built it into a premier financial services firm, owns 1.76 percent of FirstRand, or 98,726,988 shares.
With the continued slide in FirstRand shares, the market value of Laurie Dippenaar’s interest in the lending lender has dropped by R487.71 million ($25.65 million), from R6.81 billion ($357.96 million) on January 26 to R6.32 billion ($332.32 million) at the time of writing.
Despite this financial setback, Dippenaar remains one of South Africa’s most successful investors and one of the continent’s wealthiest business leaders.
