Finance company takes on BEE partner

BLACK-owned Circle Capital Ventures planned to acquire a 26% stake in banking and financial services firm Sasfin in a deal worth nearly R500m, Sasfin CEO Roland Sassoon said last week. Sassoon said the deal, which would increase Sasfin’s equity to more than R1bn, would put Sasfin well ahead of financial sector charter empowerment requirements. The deal would see Sasfin issue 9.6-million shares for cash at R51.40 a share to Circle. Circle was expected to “play a valuable partnership role, particularly in the private equity space, where both Circle and Sasfin are strong”, he said. “It is our intention to form a private equity joint venture with them, a thrust that will benefit those of our clients seeking empowered private equity partners.” Sasfin’s private equity business, established about two years ago, had concluded a number of significant transactions and its private equity partnerships with small and medium-sized enterprises had grown substantially, Sassoon said . Sasfin had been appointed an authorised dealer in foreign exchange and had established an international treasury division for this purpose. The company had also opened an office in Hong Kong to enable it to provide comprehensive trade finance service to its clients, he said. “We are increasingly taking on non-South African trade finance business in Africa and Australia, and the Hong Kong office will help develop this further. We see the African continent as a particularly exciting area. We also plan eventually to apply for a restricted banking licence in Hong Kong, which will enable us to take deposits there,” Sassoon said.