Nothing will be changed in the day-to-day operations, says Lynch
IMPERIAL HOLDINGS have bought Safair, the wholly owned subsidiary of Safmarine and Rennies Holdings (Safren) for R230 million in cash.
Yes, we are the new owners, says Imperial m.d. Bill Lynch. Remember, we are already involved in aviation through Imperial Bank, which has an aviation leasing book of R500 million.
Safair is in the aviation leasing business, and that is part of the expertise of Imperial. The financing required by a business of the type of Safair and that provided by Imperial Bank are complementary.
Other synergies, he said, include the fact that Imperial is a major transporter of goods and Safair is in airfreight.
The matter of carrying goods by air is simply a new dimension, a new wing in fact, of our business.
Safair has a fleet of 21, which includes five McDonnell Douglas MD 80 and five Boeing 727-200 passenger aircraft apart from its Boeing 727-200s and a number of Lockheed Hercules freighters.
The passenger aircraft are leased on long-term contracts to Sun Air and Comair.
Nothing will be changed in the day-to-day operations of Safair, says Lynch. The company has excellent management and workers will continue as they have been in the past. The whole enterprise is a rand hedge investment. Aircraft are bought and sold in US dollars, and although work done in South Africa is charged for in rands, Safair charges in dollars for work outside the country.
The Hercules freighters are leased to international companies and organisations such as the UN World Food Programme and Schreiner and Oil Spill Response Services. The other jet freighters are leased on long-term contracts to DHL, SAA Cargo and Rennies.
Safair also has a big stake in Air-Contractors, an aviation business in Ireland which leases its eight-aircraft fleet to customers like DHL.
This move follows the Bidvest buyout of Rennies last month, leaving Safair and Safmarine up for sale. Indicative bids for Safmarine closed last week (FTW December 11, 1998).
