Fujitsu South Africa, part of Japanese-based Fujitsu, the world’s third-largest IT company with annual revenues of R300-billion and more than 156Â 000 employees, on Wednesday sold a 30% stake to Yard Capital, a black economic empowerment (BEE) investment company headed by Leslie Maasdorp and Irene Charnley.
RMB Private Equity (RMBV), one of the South Africa’s leading private equity houses, has a shareholding in Yard Capital. This association with RMBV, which is part of RMBV’s empowerment strategy, provides Yard Capital with a stronger capacity to transact.
A significant shareholding is allocated to grassroots organisations working in higher education and supporting Aids orphans. Through their equity participation in Yard Capital, the beneficiaries of the empowerment process will go beyond the principal shareholders.
This deal pre-empts the finalisation of the IT charter and has been proactively concluded by Fujitsu and Yard Capital based on the significant value that could be created through their partnership.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, Fujitsu SA has offices in Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Previously, under the banner of ICL, the company has operated in South Africa since 1911.
Fujitsu SA chairperson Mike Stares emphasised that the deal, following hard on the heels of relocating Fujitsu’s United Kingdom and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa call centre to Johannesburg, demonstrates Fujitsu’s commitment to South Africa.
“In essence, we were looking for a partner with the kind of credentials that would augment our existing strong presence, especially in the public sector. When we first started talking to Yard Capital, the idea of simply meeting certain minimum charter conditions was not really on our mind.
“Our criterion was not so much to find a partner in the IT business, since we are not particularly looking to augment our IT skills and resources, which are abundant within the Fujitsu group. Rather, we required an empowerment group with high-level local management expertise and knowledge of the dynamics of the various market sectors we address.
“It is important that a BEE investor adds value and plays a positive role in the growth of its investment. Our strategy is to acquire a significant stake in our partners and then play an active role in their growth and success,” said Leslie Maasdorp, deputy chairperson of Yard Capital.
“We complement existing management and prefer to take a partnership approach. Staff from our offices will operate from Fujitsu’s offices on a regular basis and work at the strategic and business levels,” he added. — I-Net Bridge