Johannesburg – Financial services provider Investec announced on Monday it had acquired the remaining 51.5 percent shareholding of the Blue Strata group.
“Investec and Blue Strata have had a very fruitful partnership over the past thirteen years since Blue Strata’s founding in 2002,” Investec chief executive officer Stephen Koseff said.
“As import regulations and complexities increase, the full integration of the remaining 51.5% into Investec offers Blue Strata the opportunity to unlock substantial benefits as well as accelerate its growth trajectory.”
Blue Strata facilitates every aspect of an import transaction from order placement, confirmation and tracking through to the hedging of foreign exchange risk and the management of import logistics until delivery to the client’s warehouse.
Blue Strata co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Adam Orlin said: “While we have always had a close relationship with Investec, this transaction allows us to grow the business substantially by leveraging Investec’s client base, balance sheet and expertise in complementary areas such as credit management and foreign exchange.”
Blue Strata is a pioneer in providing fully integrated import and trade financing solutions in South Africa, handling thousands of shipments and importing billions of Rands of product annually for its clients. Blue Strata was recently named the winner of the Master’s Zenith category at the 2014 Accenture Innovation Index Awards.
The transaction is effective from March 1 this year. The deal became unconditional on Friday, June 19 June after the necessary agreements were signed in April.
ANA