| Wed 7 Mar 2007, 16:36 | | SER / SRN - Seardel - Bee Deal For Seardel Subsidi |
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SER / SRN - Seardel - Bee Deal For Seardel Subsidiary, Seartec
Seardel Investment Corporation Limited
Registration no. 1968/011249/06
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
JSE Code: SER ISIN Code: ZAE000029815
JSE Code: SRN ISIN Code: ZAE000030144
("Seardel")
BEE DEAL FOR SEARDEL SUBSIDIARY, SEARTEC
Seardel Investment Corporation ("Seardel") today announced that the group has
entered into an agreement with Thesele Group in terms of which Thesele, through
its wholly owned subsidiary Thesele Industrial Investments (Pty) Ltd, has
acquired a 25.1% strategic equity interest in Seardel`s wholly owned subsidiary,
Seartec Trading (Pty) Limited ("Seartec"). The transaction values the business
of Seartec at R126m.
Seartec, which conducts the business of selling, renting and distributing Sharp
products, is a significant contributor to Seardel`s net profit. The company has
a long standing exclusive agreement with Sharp Corporation to distribute Sharp
office automation products, cash registers, calculators and microwave ovens in
South Africa and parts of Southern Africa. It is the biggest worldwide seller of
Sharp scientific calculators and also distributes Scripto branded stationery
products. Seartec recently signed an agreement with Sharp for Seartec to
distribute solar energy panels in its designated regions of distribution. Sharp
is the world leader in solar panel manufacturing technology.
Thesele is a majority black owned and managed company founded in December 2004
by Sello Moloko, the Executive Chairman of Thesele, Thabo Leeuw and Lance Katz.
The three founders had established strong reputations as business leaders in
financial services prior to the formation of Thesele.
Seartec`s Deputy Chairman, Dr Chris de Bruin, expressed his excitement for the
partnership with Thesele. He said, "In our quest to effect meaningful
transformation in our company, we took time to search for a partner whom we
believed would contribute significantly to the overall success of Seartec. We
are confident that Thesele is that partner which is capable of providing
insightful strategic input at board level, access to wider networks and deal
flow and assisting with internal transformation challenges."
The deal with Thesele provides Seartec with the credentials necessary to compete
in the market place.
Sello Moloko, the Executive Chairman of Thesele, is enthusiastic about the deal
and says the relationship provides a platform to grow the Seartec business into
new markets. "Seartec is a solid business managed by a highly experienced and
focused team. We look forward to working with management in growing the
company`s market share locally and to help in strategically positioning the
company into new areas. Seartec`s expansion into providing alternative
sustainable energy solutions through the solar panel business is a very exciting
prospect" he said.
Seartec`s Managing Director, Tim Atkinson, said, "Thesele is a group with
creative individuals who bring strong business acumen to our organisation. Their
collective strategic business insights, strong networks and financial
structuring skills will be invaluable to Seartec." As part of this deal, Moloko
and Leeuw will join the Seartec board as non-executive directors, with Katz as
the alternate to Leeuw.
Rosebank
7 March 2007
Sponsor to the Seardel Group
Java Capital (Proprietary) Limited
Legal advisor to the Seardel Group
Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs
Legal advisors to Thesele Group (Pty) Limited
TWB - Tugendhaft Wapnick Banchetti and Partners
Date: 07/03/2007 16:36:27 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
