Mark and Dan Saltzman, the two sons of Dis-Chem founders Ivan and Lynette Saltzman, have sold a combined R642.27 million worth of shares in the pharmacy retailer, just seven months after receiving a R6.8 billion stake from their parents. Each brother sold approximately 8.8 million shares between 6 January and 27 February 2026, with their combined disposals totalling R642.27 million. The transactions, disclosed to shareholders in a SENS announcement on Wednesday, represent the first sales by either brother since they became shareholders for the first time last year, and arrive at a moment of broad generational transition for one of South Africa’s most recognised retail families.
Neither Mark nor Dan holds a position on the Dis-Chem board or in its management. Mark is a commercial lawyer and founding partner of Saltzman Attorneys and Notaries, established in 2006, while both brothers are believed to have emigrated from South Africa. Their absence from the operational structure of the business means the share sales carry no governance implications in the immediate term, though the scale and pace of the disposal — with nearly 10% of their combined gifted stake liquidated within two months of the shares becoming theirs — has prompted market observers to question whether further sales are likely. Dis-Chem has not indicated whether the brothers intend to reduce their stakes further.
The share transfer itself was the result of a restructuring of Ivan Saltzman’s personal holdings through the family investment vehicle Ivlyn Local Investment Holdings. Under that restructuring, Ivan and Lynette distributed 217 million shares to Mark and Dan in June 2025, giving each a 12.62% stake valued at approximately R3.4 billion at the time. Ivlyn’s interest in the company fell from 29.31% to 4.06% as a result. The restructuring followed Ivan’s sale of R1.4 billion worth of Dis-Chem shares in 2024, which had already reduced the family’s aggregate stake from 35.12% to 29.31%. For the six months to August 2025, Dis-Chem reported revenue growth of 8.7% to R21.3 billion and a 25.8% year-on-year increase in core retail profit before tax, providing a favourable pricing window for the brothers to reduce their exposure.
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The broader Saltzman family exit from executive responsibilities is now well advanced. Lynette stepped back from her executive director role in 2022, redirecting her focus to the group’s beauty operations. Ivan stood down as CEO in June 2023, handing the role to former CFO Rui Morais, and is set to retire as executive director at the end of June 2026 — transitioning to the role of non-executive deputy chair. A third son, Saul Saltzman, who served as an executive director for 19 years, resigned from that position in February 2026, though he remains on the board as a non-independent non-executive director. The combined effect of these departures leaves the founding family with a diminishing operational footprint inside a business they built from a single store in Mondeor, Johannesburg, in 1978 into a 355-outlet national chain comprising 313 Dis-Chem Pharmacy stores and 42 Baby City outlets.
Executive director Stanley Goetsch has separately sold R82 million worth of shares since January. The combined insider selling — across both family and management — arrives ahead of the group’s annual results, expected in May, and may attract scrutiny around sentiment at the top of the organisation even as the business itself continues to perform.
The Saltzman disposals are part of a broader pattern seen at other JSE-listed founder-controlled businesses. As detailed on Dis-Chem’s investor relations page, the group was founded on the concept of the discount pharmacy — introducing product categories not previously available in South African retail pharmacies — and listed on the JSE in 2016.
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