PICK N PAY’S RAYMOND ACKERMAN SHOOTS 89
PICK N PAY’S Raymond Ackerman celebrated his 89th birthday yesterday. An avid golfer, he was honoured with his very own sculpture for the role he has played in diversifying the sport. Every year, Ackerman shares his birthday with the Pick n Pay head office in Cape Town, and this year he was surprised with the unveiling of his bronze sculpture by Donald Greig. The retailer said in a statement yesterday that the sculpture of him playing golf will be homed at Clovelly golf course and was a tribute to his love and passion of nearly 50 years for the sport, as well as his contribution to diversity by ensuring all people had access to the sport. “Through the Raymond Ackerman Golf Academy, he has also encouraged transformation in the sport by providing young avid golfers with not only golf tuition, but access to vital life skills and education,” reads the statement. Ackerman is a South African businessman who bought the Pick n Pay supermarket group from its founder and was chairperson until he stepped down in 2010. Ackerman purchased four stores from Jack Goldin in the 1960s. He built an empire from the simple philosophy that “if you look after the community, the community will look after you”. |
DIMENSION Data Holdings’ management is in advanced talks to buy the company back from Japanese telecommunications company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation, according to people familiar with the matter. Dimension Data executives met with NTT in London on several occasions recently about a potential deal and are working on lining-up financing for a bid, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. No final decisions have been made and the two sides may decide against proceeding with a deal, they said. NTT bought Johannesburg-based Dimension Data a decade ago for about 2.1 billion pounds, and has since sold off several of the unit’s assets, including its Nigerian and Ghanaian units as well as its fibre and wireless services in 2017. The Dimension Data management team are mainly interested in the core South African business, which could be valued at as little as $300 million (R4.8 billion) on its own, the people said. Plans for a potential deal include keeping Dimension Data founder Jeremy Ord as chairperson, with Grant Bodley and Saki Missaikos – currently the chief executive and strategy head respectively – leading the company once the transaction has been completed, said the people. Dimension Data acts as the Middle East and Africa business for NTT Ltd, a global IT subsidiary of the Japanese telecom company. A spokesperson for NTT Ltd declined to comment. Ord, Bodley and Missaikos also declined to comment. Dimension Data’s management has been considering a deal for at least part of the business for at least a year, Bloomberg has reported. The company was founded in South Africa in 1983, and NTT bought it in 2010. | Bloomberg