The board of Aveng, one of South Africa’s biggest construction firms, on Wednesday said CEO Roger Jardine will be leaving his position at the end of this month.

Jardine, who has headed the firm for the past five years, offered to quit, saying the Competition Commission investigation process had taken its toll on him personally.

But the share price of Aveng gained a modest 0.26 percent during early trade on the JSE, Africa’s biggest bourse.

This could mean investors were elated by the move as the construction business of the company has been distressed under the leadership of Jardine.

Another reason could be that the announcement had not reached many investors at the time of writing this piece.

Jardine recently told the board the Competition Commission investigations were “personally very taxing,” as he had to tackle issues that happened long before he became head of the company and which he knew nothing about.

In June this year, Aveng entered into a R306.5 million ($29.8 million) settlement with the Competition Commission. This was linked to the past anticompetitive habits in South Africa’s building sector.

The company said this amount will be paid in three yearly instalments of the same sum, starting on 1 July 2013.

The company nominations committee of the board will kick-start the process of finding his replacement.

From September 1 this year, Kobus Verster, will take over as acting CEO.

Verster became Aveng’s financial director in September 2010.