An old Afrikaans adage, that marriage is a far more weighty consideration than buying horses, applies equally to business partnerships - as Capespan can no doubt testify.
The international fruit marketing giant has been seeking prospective partners for a 49% stake since last year after appointing HSBC Investment Services Africa to assist with vetting but all efforts have come to nought, FTW learnt this week.
Dr Dawie Ferreira, general manager, logistics, told me the search would start anew after the short-list of three - there had been 29 candidates at the outset - had been rejected.
Maybe we were too idealistic in expecting a good match, a good fit, although they all had something to add when talking to them. We are now looking at other options, he said.
This, he agreed, could even include international players although initial thinking had been to give preference to South African interests such as black empowerment groups.
We wish to broaden the base of the business by finding partners who can add value in the hope that both partners can benefit through synergies that exist. These partners, he added, would no doubt have like-minded interests; shipping, refrigeration, transportation and so on.
Up for sale to the the successful candidate is a segment of Capespan's logistical assets valued at more than R600 million, comprising cooling terminals in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Maputo and interests in CSS Logistics and Marven Stevedores.
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