BEE investors in information technology firm - sahara
Posted 07 December 2006

Empowerment bigwigs Tokyo Sexwale and Lazarus Zim will be introduced as the black economic empowerment partners in IT firm Sahara within days.

Their empowerment vehicles, Mvelaphanda Group and Afripalm, were scheduled to be unveiled as the BEE investors in Sahara this week. However, the announcement was delayed because it coincided with the release of Mvela's annual financial results.

Mvela reported in its final results for the financial year to June that it had cash resources of R1.5bn which "will provide the necessary financial resources to allow it to conclude major BEE and other corporate transactions in pursuit of its strategy of investing in quality investments and cash-generative businesses".   Sahara deputy managing director Gary Naidoo said the BEE deal announcement had been delayed because of Sexwale's unavailability.   "No new date has been set but I expect it to happen within two weeks," he said.

Sahara assembles and markets computers and peripherals through a global distribution network that covers established and emerging markets.  The company is based in Johannesburg and is the official distributor and original equipment manufacturer for a variety of top international vendors.  Sahara boasts an annual turnover of R1.4bn.

No details were available on the BEE transaction.

However, the black investors are expected to take up equity that is at least in line with the generic scorecard of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act.   Mvela, which has assets of more than R6bn, reported a 30% jump in operating profit to R262m but indicated that the performance of its security services businesses, namely Coin Security and Protea Security, was affected by the three-month strike by security guards between April and June and the increase in the number of armed attacks on assets-in-transit vehicles.

Its cash-flush position enables it to buy into Sahara.

Mvela is on the lookout for other solid investments and will also increase its stake in Absa - held through Banto Bonke - in its drive to become an industrial and financial group of magnitude.

Zim's Afripalm will be the joint BEE investor in Sahara and will team up with Sexwale.