Wiphold has 25.1% stake now in Sasfin

WOMEN’S Investment Portfolio Holdings (Wiphold), yesterday concluded its second foray into the financial services sector after it bought a 25.1 percent stake in JSE listed specialised banker Sasfin for R413 million.

The company currently has a stake in Old Mutual and Nedbank, respectively.

Sasfin chief executive Roland Sassoon said the transaction underscored Sasfin’s commitment to transformation and would result in Sasfin having the highest black equity ownership of any JSE-listed banking group.

“We believe this transaction places Sasfin in a strong position to become a far more meaningful player in many of our activities.

“Wiphold is highly reputed and has experience in banking and financial services, having been owners of, and partners to a number of well-known financial services concerns,” Sassoon said.

Under the terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Wiphold SPV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wiphold, will subscribe to 8.1m shares in Sasfin.

The companies have also agreed that Wiphold will provide Sasfin with services relating to promoting and growing Sasfin business, particularly in the area of business development.

Sasfin said it would return the proceeds of the subscription to shareholders through a voluntary repurchase of shares that equate to R51 per Sasfin share.

Sasfin said the lock-in period for the transaction was seven years and was subject to regulatory approvals.

Agreement

“Subject to the final agreement between Wiphold SPV and the South African Registrar of Banks, Wiphold SPV will undertake to become a shareholder of reference during the Lock-in Period and so long as its shareholding in Sasfin represents 15 percent or more of all issued Sasfin share capital,” the company said.

The deal is a second empowerment deal Sasfin has undertaken – in 2005 it sold 10 percent of its banking unit, Sasfin Bank to InnoVent in a deal valued at R66.7m.

The financial services sector has in recent times been on the receiving end of calls for the sector to transform and have more black ownership.

Earlier this year, the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) told parliament’s standing committee on finance that R246 billion would be needed to achieve 25 percent black ownership target in the sector as demanded by broad-based black economic empowerment codes.

The NEF said this figure was calculated using the top 17 listed financial services companies on the JSE.