Rockwood Private Equity (“Rockwood”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into
an agreement with Euronext-listed Wendel (MF.FP) regarding the sale of its interests
in the Tsebo Group (“Tsebo”) for an attributable enterprise value of ZAR5.25 billion.
Tsebo is a leading Pan-African facilities services provider, employing 34,000 people
across 23 countries and generating revenue of approximately ZAR6.5 billion.
The future ownership structure of Tsebo will include a BEE consortium in
South Africa that will partner with Wendel and maintain Tsebo’s Level 1 BBBEE status
under the BEE Codes.
Tsebo was acquired by Rockwood in 2007 in a
secondary buy-out. Rockwood partnered with management and facilitated the investment
of two BEE partners, Nozala Investments and Lereko Investments.
CEO
of Rockwood, Andrew Dewar said “We believe that Wendel will be a great partner to
Tsebo and together with management will continue to grow the business. During the
time that Rockwood has held Tsebo it has grown from a primarily South African company
with 9000 employee’s into a Pan-African platform with over 34,000 employees. In South
Africa it has improved from a Level 3 BBBEE rating to a Level 1 BBBEE rating. We
are certain that these trends will accelerate into the future with Wendel as a partner
and we wish them every success.”
Speaking about Rockwood's strengths,
Dewar said: "Key to our success is the stability of our senior leadership team, all of
whom were employed by Barclays Africa and were involved in the acquisition of our
portfolio."
Clive Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Tsebo said,
“Tsebo, with Rockwood, Nozala and Lereko support, has built a proud history of
supporting its clients through the unique combination of delivering global standards
with a deep African expertise. We thank the team at Rockwood for all their support
over the years to build Tsebo into the company it is today. We are delighted to be
able to partner with Wendel, as they bring a true global capacity while at the same
time allowing Tsebo to maintain the entrepreneurial culture which enables us to exceed
our customer’s expectations.”
Completion of the sale is
subject to fulfilment of certain suspensive conditions, including obtaining the
requisite regulatory approvals.
Deutsche Bank acted as financial
adviser and Bowman as legal adviser to Tsebo and Rockwood regarding the sale.
About Rockwood
Rockwood is a prominent
South African private equity fund manager and is the general partner of Rockwood Fund
I. Rockwood was established in 2013 following the sale by Barclays Africa of its
private equity interests to the investment team and two international private equity
investors in a first of its kind secondary buy-out in South Africa. Rockwood is an
active private equity house which focuses on taking substantial equity positions in
medium to large sized companies which have experienced management teams.
About Wendel
Wendel is one of Europe's leading listed
investment firms. The Group invests internationally, in companies that are leaders in
their field, such as Bureau Veritas, Saint-Gobain, Cromology, Stahl, IHS, Constantia
Flexibles and Allied Universal. Wendel plays an active role as industry shareholder in
these companies. It implements long-term development strategies, which involve
boosting growth and margins of companies so as to enhance their leading market
positions. Through Oranje-Nassau Développement, which brings together opportunities
for investment in growth, diversification and innovation, Wendel is also a shareholder
of exceet in Germany, Mecatherm in France, Nippon Oil Pump in Japan, Saham Group and
SGI Africa in Africa and CSP Technologies in the United States.
Wendel is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris.
Standard &
Poor’s ratings: Long-term: BBB-, stable outlook – Short-term: A-3 since July 7, 2014.
Wendel is the Founding Sponsor of Centre Pompidou-Metz. In recognition of its
long-term patronage of the arts, Wendel received the distinction of “Grand Mécène de
la Culture” in 2012.
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rockwood-led_consortium_sells_tsebo_group_to_wendel_s.e-2.pdf