RMB Corvest gets ‘majority’ in Halewood International SA

RMB Corvest, a Rand Merchant Bank on balance sheet private equity vehicle, has teamed up with mining magnate Mike Teke and Sabvest Capital CEO Chris Seabrooke to acquire a “significant share” of beverage maker Halewood International SA.

The FirstRand-owned private equity house, the sister company of RMB Ventures, which targets slightly larger assets, partnered Masimong Beverages Holdings — an entity created by Teke and Seabrooke specifically to facilitate the Halewood deal.

The RMB Family Office Group, an advisory service for high net worth families, and Halewood’s management also committed a portion of capital to facilitate the transaction for which no value was disclosed.

“It’s a significant business,” Brendan Wiebols, an investment executive at RMB Corvest, told Business Day. “The company’s strong revenue growth, and potential for future growth along with new product lines, makes Halewood a perfect fit regarding our investment criteria.”

Halewood manufactures, imports and distributes an array of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, including Belgravia Gin, Red Square, Caribbean Twist, Lambrini, and Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Its manufacturing operations are supported by three depots in Durban, Cape Town and Ladysmith, plus eight outsourced depots across the country that enable nationwide distribution.

Though Wiebols declined to name the seller of Halewood International SA, an online profile for the firm on the website of Africa Outlook Magazine, a business-to-business title, indicated it was established in 1999 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Halewood International UK.

Wiebols did not disclose specific shareholding details for the transaction but said the capital commitment by RMB Corvest, Masimong Beverages and the RMB Family Office amounted to a majority stake. Halewood’s attraction as an investment was its wide array of consumer brands, its strong management team, its relationships with major players in the FMCG sector and the defensive characteristics of the beverages segment.

“Our priority was for us to find like-minded investment partners — we found that with RMB Corvest and the Masimong Beverages team,” said Halewood MD Johan Oosthuizen. “We’ve recently invested capital in automation for our manufacturing processes, which will allow for increased production aligning with our growth strategy.”