SA billionaire Zak Calisto to acquire stake in King Price

South African tech billionaire Zak Calisto is edging into the insurance business after competition regulators recommended approval of a transaction that will give him an interest in King Price, the insurer best known for its quirky advertising and fast growth in car cover.

The Competition Commission has advised the Competition Tribunal to approve the proposed deal without conditions, saying it is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition and raises no public interest concerns.

The transaction is structured through two acquiring firms, Orient Victoria and KP Partners, which plan to buy King Price Financial Services and a related company called Porcupine Union. The commission said Orient Victoria is ultimately controlled by the same person who controls Cartrack and its subsidiaries, pointing to Calisto as the individual behind the acquiring group.

Details of how much is being bought, and at what price, remain unclear. The regulator’s description suggests a joint venture type structure rather than a straight purchase by Calisto alone, with KP Partners also involved in the acquisition vehicle.

Orient Victoria is registered in Singapore, and corporate records cited in the report identify Calisto as its sole director. KP Partners has three directors, including the chief executive of King Price, indicating management participation in the structure, though the final shareholding split after the deal has not been disclosed.

The commission’s analysis focused on the overlap between vehicle related services and insurance. King Price Financial Services is a licensed insurer offering life and nonlife products, including car insurance. Cartrack, through the Karooooo group, sells vehicle tracking, fleet management, stolen vehicle recovery and insurance telematics, as well as broking services and data analytics.

Porcupine Union, described as a technology oriented consultancy, provides data driven solutions using statistics, machine learning, collection optimisation and lead generation modelling. The commission said neither King Price Financial Services nor Porcupine Union is controlled by any shareholder, a structure that can make room for new strategic investors.

Calisto’s involvement lands at a moment when insurers are leaning hard into data, pricing precision and telematics to win customers and cut claims losses. A tie up with a telematics leader could reshape product design, from usage based premiums to more automated claims workflows, though neither party has publicly outlined its plans.

Calisto is best known as the founder and controlling shareholder of Karooooo, the Nasdaq listed group that owns Cartrack. He built his reputation in vehicle telematics, starting out as a distributor for tracking firm Netstar before going independent. Cartrack, which broke away in 2004, expanded quickly across Africa, Europe, parts of Southeast Asia, and later into the United States and New Zealand.

Cartrack listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2014, then delisted in 2021 as it shifted its primary listing to the United States under Karooooo. The company has long marketed itself as a subscription business with sticky customers, and recent updates cited in the report pointed to continued subscriber growth.

Calisto became a dollar billionaire in 2025 after a strong run in Karooooo shares, though his estimated wealth has fluctuated with the stock price. The move toward insurance, even through a minority stake, signals a broader play for the value chain around mobility, risk and data.

The tribunal still needs to issue a final decision, but the commission’s recommendation is a key regulatory step that clears the deal’s biggest competition hurdle and opens the door for Calisto’s next bet beyond tracking devices and dashboards.