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South African financier Magda Wierzycka has won shareholder backing for a contested plan to hand more Sygnia shares to the asset manager’s top executives, despite strong opposition from her former business partner.
Shareholders approved the third amendment to the Sygnia Employee Share Option Scheme “B” on Oct. 23, with 86.99% of votes cast in favor, Daily Investor reported. The resolution needed 75% support to pass.
The change lets the board issue 10 million more shares to eligible executives, lifting the size of the scheme from 15 million to 25 million shares. Sygnia has already issued 6,999,500 shares under the plan.
The strike price was also cut to 1 cent per share. That means executives will receive the shares almost free, rather than buying them at a market-linked price. The board can now also grant up to 5 million shares to a single eligible employee without specific performance conditions.
The vote followed weeks of tension. Andre Crawford-Brunt, Wierzycka’s former business partner, strongly opposed the plan. He described it as an “enrichment scheme” for Wierzycka and current executives that would harm minority shareholders. Ahead of the vote, Wierzycka had signaled that she could leave the investment firm she founded if the resolution failed.
Wierzycka defended the scheme as a tool to reward and keep staff. “It really is a commercial decision, and there should be nothing controversial about it,” she said.
She pointed to a six-month search for a chief financial officer. During that search, Sygnia needed about R10 million to buy out a candidate’s existing share scheme before hiring. She also said the company has no share option structure in place for a chief executive, which would make it difficult to replace her if she stepped down.
Wierzycka holds 43% of Sygnia directly and through a family trust, making her the controlling shareholder. Her former husband, Simon Peile, owns 17%. Daily Investor estimates her net worth at about $250 million, or R4.1 billion.
She founded Sygnia in 2006 after leading a management buyout of the Africa Harvest Group. The firm has grown its assets under management from R2 billion at launch to R460.8 billion, while revenue has risen by about 12% a year over the past decade.
The approval gives Sygnia’s board more room to reward and retain senior staff. It also settles a dispute that had raised questions about whether its founder would stay. The expanded scheme now covers 25 million shares, with more than 18 million still available to issue.
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