Exchange-Listed Companies
Lighthouse Properties, through its wholly-owned Spanish subsidiary, Girona Retail Property, will acquire a mall known as Espai Gironès located on the outskirts of the provincial capital Gironès from Commerz Real Investment. The purchase consideration of €168,2 million represents an annualised net initial yield of 7.2% post transaction costs. Following the acquisition, the company’s Iberian exposure stands at 76% of the value of Lighthouse’s directly held properties.
Mondi plc is to acquire the German, Benelux and UK corrugated converting and solid board operations of Schumacher Packaging in a deal with an enterprise value of €634 million. Mondi expects the deal to be earnings per share accretive in the first full financial year following completion and will increase capacity in Europe by over 1 billion square meters.
Mantengu is to acquire Blue Ridge Platinum following an agreement with Ridge Mining (Sibanye-Stillwater) and Imbani Platinum SPV for a nominal amount. Blue Ridge was placed on care and maintenance in 2011 by Aquarius Platinum (Sibanye acquired Aquarius in 2016) on the back of depressed PGM prices and has remained ever since. Blue Ridge has a sizeable tailings dump of 1 million tonnes which contains significant quantities of chrome and PGMs. Mantengu’s investment will be in a phased approach – initially in plant and equipment to process the tailing dump and then investment in a bankable feasibility study into the underground UG2 mining operations.
Sizwe Africa IT Group, in which AYO Technology Solutions holds a 55% indirect interest, will sell its 70% stake in Cyberantrix to Mustek for R20 million of which R8 million is in respect of the shares and R12 million in respect of Sizwe claims.
Metair Investments, the JSE-listed group with an international portfolio of companies that manufacture, distribute and retail products for energy storage and automotive components, is to acquire financially distressed AutoZone out of business rescue. AutoZone, a distributor of auto parts, spares and car accessories, entered into business rescue in July this year impacted by the sizeable debt on the group’s balance sheet dating back to the 2014 leveraged buyout of the business. Metair will pay a maximum of R290 million in cash of which R200 million is payable to Absa, R15 million to settle pre-commencement unsecured creditors and R75 million to fund the working capital requirements of AutoZone providing it with the ability to trade as normal. At this point, there is no equity value in the shares.
Richemont has signed an agreement with MYT Netherlands Parent to dispose of YOOX NET-A- PORTER (YNAP) in a share swap for a 33% stake in Mytheresa. Richemont failed in 2022 to dispose of the lossmaking online retailer to FARFETCH and Symphony Global. The deal aims to create a leading global multi-brand digital luxury group offering highly curated and strongly differentiated but complementary products. Mytheresa has a cash position of €555 million and no financial debt. Richemont will make available a six-year revolving credit facility of €100 million to finance YNAP’s general corporate needs, including working capital.
Accelerate Property Fund will be hoping it’s third time lucky for the sale of its Cherry Lane Shopping Centre. Bellerose Investments and Scarlet Sky Investments will each take a 50% stake in the property for a cash consideration of R54 million – down from the R60 million price tag in March this year.
The period of fulfilment of the condition precedent in sale of SS-Construções (Moçambique) by Stefanutti Stocks to CCG-Compass Consulting Group announced in Q3 2022 have once again extended from 30 September to 30 November 2024.
Unlisted Companies
BSE-listed WPIL, through its South African subsidiary APE Pumps, has acquired Eigenbau, a local contracting company providing turnkey solutions in the water and wastewater sector. The cash purchase consideration was undisclosed.
OSC Marine, a subsea engineering company, has acquired the vessels and services of Servest Marine in a strategic acquisition which will scale its operational capabilities as it seeks to capitalise on international growth initiatives. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Afrirent, a 100% black-owned and managed mobility, energy, leisure and gaming group, has acquired a 51% stake in High Street Auctions for an undisclosed sum.
Two Western Cape companies, DAMREV and Codenatics have entered into an agreement which will see DAMREV, a real-world asset tokenisation and digital transformation company acquire a controlling interest in Codenatics, a software development agency specialising in advanced technology solutions. The acquisition will strengthen DAMREV’s technology stack and will enhance its ability to deliver best-in-class software solutions across industries. DAMREV has the option within the next 12 months to acquire the remaining equity in Codenatics.
Meitier, though its Capital Growth Fund III, has partnered with the van den Berg family in an investment into Blinkwater Meule, a local vertically integrated maize meal producer and retailer.
Juta and Company has acquired Contractzone and Litigator effective 1 July 2024. Contractzone is a legal document automation solution and Litigator is an advanced cloud-based legal workflow solution combined with a legal correspondent network to manage cost-effective legal proceedings. Financial details were undisclosed.
Global pharmaceutical group Lupin has, via its local subsidiary Pharma Dynamics, acquired nine brands along with their associated trademarks, from the Medical Nutritional Institute SA. The deal, through a partnership with ImpiloVest, a South African Investment firm, include the brands AntaGolin, RyChol, NeuroVance, SkinVance, FlamLeve, Rheumalin, SleepVance, ImmunoVance, and OviVance. These products address a range of health concerns including metabolic syndrome, cognitive function, joint care, immune support, and women’s hormonal health. The acquisition is a major step for the Mumbai-based Lupin in the expansion of its footprint in the Complementary and Alternative Medicines sector.
DealMakers is SA’s M&A publication.
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