COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Datacentrix expands with business acquisitionICT group Datacentrix, which announced in January that its existing management team and private equity group Convergence Partners had agreed to acquire the business from Alviva Holdings, announced on Wednesday that all conditions have been met for the transaction. This follows regulatory approvals from the Competition Commission and Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, who have unconditionally approved the transaction. The acquisition of Datacentrix is the sixth by the Convergence in the past year as it accelerates the deployment of its $300 million (R5.5 billion) Africa tech-focused fund, Bloomberg quoted Convergence chair Andile Ngcaba as saying at the time. We are delighted to be part of Datacentrix, one of the leading system integrators in South Africa. “We are excited to embark on this journey towards artificial intelligence with Datacentrix. We are entering Datacentrix at a time when the market is transitioning towards an AI driven enterprise, telco and public sector. With Datacentrix's strong partnerships with leading global OEMs, we will be forging new partnerships as the market consolidates," Ngcaba said in the statement on Wednesday.
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Bidvest to sell banking unit
Multinational services giant Bidvest is selling its banking unit as part of what it called a "strategic restructure" that aims to recycle any capital from the sale into continued local and offshore growth. It said that a formal disposal process for Bidvest Bank and its related entity FinGlobal, which provides tax and financial emigration advice, would be launched "imminently." Any transaction would be subject to regulatory approval, but the group plans to identify a suitable buyer by the end of 2024. The remaining short-term insurance businesses within Bidvest's financial services division, which are focused on vehicle insurance, will be transferred to its automotive division. Bidvest is also in the process of selling its long-term insurer Bidvest Life. Bidvest said its board had decided that "dedicated financial services ownership" is required to ensure the continued sustainability and prosperity of some of the companies. The restructure of the financial services division will also allow the group to invest any capital raised into local and international expansion, particularly in the niche areas of hygiene, facilities management and distribution of plumbing and related products. Shares in the group, valued at about R95 billion on the JSE, were down almost 1% on Wednesday afternoon but have gained almost 7% in the past year.
Bidvest also announced it has reached a deal to acquire Citron Hygiene, which provides washroom hygiene products and services in the US, Canada, and UK. The consideration for the acquisition, still subject to approval from UK competition authorities, was not disclosed. Citron, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, was founded in 1974 and serves approximately 50 000 customer locations from seven branches in Canada, four in the USA and 10 in the UK, Bidvest said. Some 90% of revenue is recurring and the customer base spans manufacturing, hospitality, facilities management, education, commercial and healthcare. It didn't provide a figure for the transaction.
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Impala Platinum resolves strike
A week-long strike at one of Impala Platinum's Bafokeng shafts was resolved with all employees returning to work on Wednesday, the mining group announced. The work stoppage began on Thursday last week at the North Shaft of its Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine. The operation is among those acquired by Implats when it gained control of Royal Bafokeng Platinum last year and follows an unprotected strike in December that saw over 2 000 employees kept underground for more than two days. In the main, the strike action involves members of the contractor workforce demanding permanent positions, Implats said, but the demands were taking place amid a difficult operating environment for platinum group metal (PGM) producers, given depressed prices.
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Numsa threatens strike at Ford South Africa
The National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (Numsa) says it will embark on a strike at Ford on Thursday to demand bonus payments. Secretary-general Irvin Jim said the strike notice was issued after discussions broke down with the motoring company last month, with Ford allegedly refusing to pay worker bonuses to workers, despite a capacity to build 720 cars a day. "The reason for the strike is that Ford is refusing to share its profits with workers. Our members are the creators of wealth, and Ford has benefitted hugely from the sweat and labour of its workers," he said in a statement. "Ford management pretends not to understand the demand and they keep claiming it is 'impermissible' and they claim that workers have no right to demand bonuses. We reject this." In response, Ford expects the strike to heavily impact the local economy and South Africa's global reputation for business and manufacturing, as well as its competitiveness. Its workers have been urged to work from home during the strike. "Ford has a long-term commitment to South Africa and has invested heavily in its operations and local employees... we hope that all employees will return to work as soon as possible," it said in a statement.
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Shoprite ventures into e-commerce
Africa's largest supermarket group, Shoprite, has launched a new ecommerce offering at wholesale-focused Cash & Carry stores that will offer SA's spaza shops access to an online delivery platform similar to its successful Checkers Sixty60 service. The move marks the first venture into ecommerce for Cash & Carry and is expected to benefit small businesses that ordinarily buy goods from the wholesale network. They can now purchase from a variety of goods listed on a fully automated online shopping system offering free delivery within a 50km radius. This will help spaza shops and smaller retail businesses that are faced with high transportation and fuel costs better manage their stock levels, it said.
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