Cape Town - Remgro, the investment holding company, yesterday announced that it had bought a 37 percent stake in Kagiso Trust Investments (KTI), the black investment group, for R450 million.
The company said it had bought the stake from Liberty Life, the insurer, and Nedbank Group.
The acquisition is effective from August 1 and now awaits approval from the competition authorities.
Remgro has interests in tobacco, banking and financial services, printing and packaging, engineering and motor components, life assurance, mining, petroleum products, food and wine and medical services.
The acquisition would provide the opportunity for Remgro and KTI to jointly pursue investment opportunities with their combined industry expertise, strengthened by the empowerment credentials of KTI.
Thys Visser, the chief executive of Remgro, said: "We have always been proponents of value-adding partnerships and are pleased to enter into a new partnership with a leading empowerment group.
"Remgro looks forward to a close working relationship with KTI in the management of investments and exploring future opportunities."
"The board of Remgro believes that KTI has created an investment portfolio and has an investment strategy that is complementary to that of Remgro, which will appeal to the investment community," said Visser.
Eric Molobi, the chairman of KTI, welcomed the introduction of Remgro as a shareholder to the company and said he looked forward to building a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.
KTI was formed in December 1993 by the Kagiso Trust as an investment vehicle to generate sustainable, long-term financial support to its parent, Kagiso Trust for Community Development, and to achieve true empowerment.
As a holding company, KTI has assets in excess of R1.6 billion that provide strategic and operational support to its partners.
The acquisition would strengthen KTI's route to business and would unlock further opportunities for pro-active business development, particularly in substantial investment in empowerment, Molobi said.
Remgro shares added R1.25 to close at R110.75 yesterday.