Brait backs black empowerment firm
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Financial Services Correspondent
LISTED private equity house Brait is putting its financial muscle behind a new empowerment investment company called Medu Capital.
With the spotlight firmly centred on the empowerment credentials of SA's corporate sector, many firms are seeking black investors creating an opportunity for private equity investment houses with the right pedigree.
Medu Capital was started by two black accountants, Phares Mkwanazi and Ernest January, who own 51% of the company, while Brait holds the other 49%.
Brait had facilitated R250m of funds for Medu to invest in smaller and medium-sized companies, Mkwanazi said.
The underlying investors who put up the R250m included the Eskom Pension Fund, the Transnet Pension Fund, the Iscor Retirement Fund, Sanlam Investment Management, Investec Asset Management and others.
Heavily punting its empowerment credentials, Medu was launched yesterday morning at a function attended by government officials and members of the black business elite, including Nafcoc CEO Sipho Mseleku and Black Management Forum president Bheki Sibiya.
Durban businessman Vivian Reddy will be the nonexecutive chairman of Medu's board, while Brait CEO Anthony Ball and Brait Private Equity CEO John Gnodde will sit as nonexecutive directors.
Mkwanazi said Medu would look to invest in between five to eight companies that were looking for empowerment partners. It would spend R30m to R70m on each of these investments.
Although Medu already had a number of transactions in the smelting pot, Mkwanazi would not reveal any details.
He said two transactions in the healthcare sector and in the staffing-outsourcing sector looked promising. Opportunities in the telecommunications and education sectors were also being explored.
With the nascent financial sector empowerment charter close to completion, Nafcoc's Mseleku said Medu had arrived at a time when black empowerment issues were at the top of the economic agenda.
Jul 02 2003 07:45:36:000AM Rob Rose Business Day 1st Edition
Wednesday
02 July 2003
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