To help enable the merger with rival PPC, AfriSam is set to replace its CEO, Stephan Olivier after nearly seven years of leading the firm, according to local press reports in South Africa.

He would be replaced on a short-term contract by Rob Wessels, a former chief investment officer at AfriSam's black empowerment partner Phembani Group.

The new management team would potentially implement the merger with PPC through a reverse of AfriSam into its competitor's listing, two of the sources said. Phembani, co-founded by MTN's executive chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, would own a significant stake in the combined company alongside the Public Investment Corp, AfriSam’s biggest shareholder and Africa’s largest money manager.