The listing was intended to give British and European investors access to ABC’s shares in sterling while expanding its international shareholder base.
ABC already has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and secondary listings on A2X and the Namibia Securities Exchange. Its shares also trade on the OTCQB market in the United States and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Its planned Aquis admission would therefore not be an initial public offering. It would add another market on which the company’s existing class of ordinary shares could be traded.
The company has not said whether the investors participating in the conditional placement remain committed following the postponement.
Africa’s first corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy
ABC’s main attraction for some investors is its decision to hold Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset while operating a private-credit business for African companies.
It became the first publicly listed African company to adopt such a strategy after purchasing its first Bitcoin in February 2025. The approach draws comparisons with companies such as the United States’ Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, which has built a large Bitcoin reserve.
As of 31 July 2026, ABC held 5.5331 Bitcoin at an average acquisition cost of approximately $93,000 (£68,901 or R1.53 million) per Bitcoin.
That puts its total acquisition cost at roughly $515,000, although the market value of the reserve changes with Bitcoin’s price.
ABC says it does not intend to sell its Bitcoin to finance routine lending or day-to-day operations. Instead, it treats the cryptocurrency as an additional treasury asset intended to strengthen its capital base and potentially improve its access to international funding.
The company’s underlying business provides non-bank loans, insurance and other financing products to small and medium-sized enterprises, mainly in South Africa.
Its Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund had assets under management of R512 million, approximately $31.7 million, as of 31 May 2026, based on the exchange rate at the time.
The fund had issued 59 loans to 45 businesses across 23 industries, according to unaudited management figures released by ABC. It said the businesses had created or supported 2,406 jobs.
The average loan stood at R6.18 million, approximately $382,000, with an average interest rate of 18.3 per cent and average loan cover of 2.6 times. Bad debts written off represented 0.09 per cent of the loan book, the company said.
Bitcoin strategy comes with regulatory warning
ABC’s expansion into Britain also brings its Bitcoin model into a market where regulators have repeatedly warned investors about the risks surrounding crypto assets.
In its latest announcement, ABC stressed that it is neither authorised nor regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. It also noted that an investment in the company is not a direct or indirect investment in Bitcoin.
The FCA considers cryptocurrency investments high-risk, while holdings are generally not protected by Britain’s Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
ABC also acknowledged that the JSE does not currently have a specific regulatory framework governing listed companies that invest in crypto assets. The company said it would comply with such rules if the exchange introduces them.
The board identified volatility, cyberattacks, financial crime, counterparty failure and difficulties selling Bitcoin during certain market conditions as risks to its treasury strategy.
It warned that the company might be unable to recover the price originally paid for its Bitcoin or the value assigned to the holdings on its balance sheet.
However, there is presently no evidence that these regulatory considerations caused the listing delay. ABC has attributed the postponement only to a technical matter, and neither the company nor Aquis has announced that its application was rejected.
