Leading Brait talent quit to form private investme
Leading Brait talent quit to form private investment firm Metier
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Financial Services Editor
SOME of the top talent at investment house Brait have left to set up their own private equity company.
Led by Thierry Dalais, who was a co-founder of Capital Partners and former deputy chairman of Brait, the group has formed investment and advisory house Metier.
Other members include Paul Botha, who acted as CE of Brait's advisory group, Anthony Hewat, who was principal of each of Brait's private equity funds, and Robin Smith, who headed Brait's merger and acquisitions and corporate finance teams.
Smith joins Metier on June 1, while Dalais still has commitments at Brait and takes over as executive chairman of Metier on July 1.
Malcolm Ball, who was previously director at Brait Advisory Services, joins as a director of the new group.
Dalais said yesterday the split with Brait was not acrimonious. He said he informed Brait last year that he wanted to pursue his own interests outside of the group. But the departure of the four must be seen as a loss of talent to the group, despite this goodwill.
What the team brought to Metier , said Dalais, was competence in higher-level private equity deal-making. He said Metier's business model was based on the development of long-term relationships in which the company would be involved as investors and advisers.
The new group has a number of deals under its belt, including Bavaria Holland's acquisition of its local namesake, the return of Rand Merchant Bank as a financier to the Fuel logistics group, and Aflife Health's amalgamation with Amanzi.
Metier has taken a strategic equity position in and is providing advice to the Connection Group. It has also overseen an empowerment management buy-in at Danisa Baloyi's South African Women's Investment Holdings, to which it is also giving investment advice .
Dalais said the current flurry of empowerment deals would bring more opportunities.
Metier believed that black economic empowerment was a national imperative, and was committed to facilitating the process in its numerous facets.
Africa was also an area of focus, given the experience Robin Smith brought to Metier.
"We believe we can see more African deals in the future," Smith said. "It's all to do with appetite. Yes, there is appetite for deals in Africa, especially those with regional roll-out opportunities, perhaps anchored in SA but not necessarily."
Smith said the risk associated with the continent was lessening while opportunities were on the increase.
Apr 08 2004 07:22:57:000AM Stephen Gunnion Business Day 1st Edition
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