Capital Finance
officially
takes control
THE UNBUNDLING of the Safren Group (Safmarine & Rennies Holdings Limited) came to an end on December 1, 1999 with the transfer of ownership of the South African Marine Corporation Limited (SAMC) from Safren to Capital Finance SA, a company controlled by the Restis family of Greece.
However, SAMC will continue to trade under the well-known brand names SafBulk and SafOre.
While the sale of this uniquely South African shipping group to foreign buyers may have saddened some, the investment by powerful overseas interests will ensure that SAMC will prosper and grow, chief executive officer Jan Rabie told FTW. It is too early to know how the inflow of cash from the sale of SAMC will be viewed in investment terms, but the authoritative Redsand financial publication credits the sale of Safmarine Container Lines as having created the biggest single foreign investment in South Africa during 1999.
The sale of SAMC brings to an end 15 years of ownership by Safren.
The new shareholder has demonstrated its commitment to the South African Marine Corporation with
its announced investment
of R1,2 billion in a new
ship building programme, Rabie said.
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