Illustrative image | Curro private school in Pretoria. (Photo: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Deaan Vivier) | Jannie Mouton. (Photo: Wikipedia) When billionaire businessman Jannie Mouton says he wants to give South Africa “a fishing rod rather than a fish”, he doesn’t mean it literally. To be fair, it was actually his son Jan, in his capacity as foundation spokesperson, who said that in an exclusive interview with Daily Maverick. Oh, and he means education.
The Mouton family foundation is betting that taking Curro Holdings off the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) with a proposed R7.2-billion buyout of the country’s largest listed private school operator, will transform it from a shareholder-driven business into a non-profit engine of access.
Kind of a big deal
The Jannie Mouton Stigting (that’s Afrikaans for foundation), a public benefit organisation, has tabled a firm intention offer to acquire every last Curro share. The plan is to delist the company, reincorporate it as a non-profit, and recycle all surpluses into bursaries, school expansions and education projects in places where private schools simply don’t make commercial sense.
“This is the biggest donation in the history of South Africa,” said Jan Mouton. “For shareholders, it’s a tremendous premium, but it’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to the largest philanthropic education project the country has ever seen.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/curro-footprint.jpg "Curro's footprint . Source: Curro interim results June 2025")
The mechanics of the mega deal
The offer values Curro at R13 per share, a 60% premium to its late-August closing price of R8.13. But it’s not an all-cash windfall.
Shareholders will get a mix of:
- 6.6% in cash (about 85c per share);
- Nearly 80% in Capitec shares: and
- Around 14% in PSG Financial Services stock.
This PSG-flavoured cocktail makes sense. Mouton built his empire around PSG, Capitec and Curro, and now he wants to fold part of that ecosystem into philanthropy.
Of course, the deal is subject to a maze of approvals: shareholder votes, high court sanctioning, regulatory green lights from the Reserve Bank and the Competition Commission. Even if everything goes smoothly, parents and learners shouldn’t expect immediate change in their classrooms.
What this means for you
If you’re a Curro parent right now:
Don’t expect fee relief. The deal doesn’t magically reduce tuition. Running a private school network still costs money.
Change won’t be immediate. The transaction still needs approvals and could take months, possibly years, to finalise.
The big shift is long-term. Over time, more bursaries and expanded school footprints could reshape Curro’s role in South African education. That could mean a more diverse classroom for your child, but not a different fee invoice in your inbox tomorrow.
Opening the gates
The heart of the proposal lies in what happens after the takeover. With no shareholders expecting dividends, Curro would reinvest all surpluses. That means bursary programmes could expand dramatically, and schools could be built in rural or lower-income areas where profit-hungry investors would never tread.
As Mouton (junior) framed it: “This is a game-changing R7.2-billion donation in quality education.”
“Curro will become a not-for-profit company. It will still be a private school, but like Bishops or St Cyprian’s – schools without shareholders,” he explained. “All profits will be reinvested in education.”
For now, though, families looking for an immediate fee cut are likely to be disappointed. Curro still has to balance the books, pay teachers, and maintain infrastructure. Non-profit doesn’t mean free.
The numbers
For all the visionary rhetoric, Curro’s financials show why a shift in structure could be attractive. For the six months ended 30 June 2025:
- Learner numbers dropped 1.4% to 71,749, down from 72,758 a year earlier.
- Revenue still climbed 4.7% to R2.709-billion, from R2.588-billion in H1 2024.
- Cash from operations rose 10.3% to R688-million.
- Headline earnings per share (HEPS) flatlined at 40.3 cents.
Most tellingly, the Meridian Schools turned a R12-million loss into a R19-million profit, thanks to refinancing shareholder loans and cutting interest charges.
That turnaround underscores the argument: without the pressure of dividends and short-term market sentiment, Curro could redirect more resources to growth, access and affordability.
That includes bolstering Curro’s Meridian Schools, which serve lower-fee communities and have been financially strained. Mouton believes the non-profit structure will make them more sustainable and easier to replicate.
Source: Curro interim results June 2025
A vision built on legacy
Mouton (senior) has been open about his inspiration. Watching Warren Buffett give away his fortune pushed him toward philanthropy. “I realised that this is what I have to do as well,” he said in the official statement.
If the deal goes through, it will be the crown jewel of his career, an attempt to secure education as a human right for generations.
Curro’s founder, Dr Chris van der Merwe, welcomed the plan: “When I started Curro, my goal was to create broad access for learners to high-quality education and teaching. Thanks to the Jannie Mouton Foundation, this dream is entering an exciting phase.”
Curro CEO Cobus Loubser stressed that for the 72,000 learners currently enrolled, daily life will not change: “This is a change in ownership. Our core mission, to educate learners in classrooms, on sports fields, and alongside families, remains unchanged.” DM
Click here to read more Business Maverick articles.