English • Arcadis
• Toshiba
Managed private equity investment funds for the largest retirement funds in Africa – PIC ($350m), Transnet Pension Fund ($50m), De Beers ($30m) and 1st worker created provident fund ($35m) in Africa. Investments have been in infrastructure, hospitals, agriculture, mining, airport, toll roads, manufacturing, etc.
Executed largest property transaction which consisted of portfolio of the top 7 retail shopping centres in South Africa. The market value of deal in 2001 was $200m and today is worth $4bn. The client, the largest electricity company in Africa had an asset allocation problem and Merit solved it by executing the property transaction. This was a deal that Merit created and executed.
We created partnership between 150, 000 farm workers and Sanlam, which is the largest emerging market insurer in the world. The deal involved pooling the savings and pensions of the workers and created financial services company focused on serving workers, product development, distribution channel innovation, training & development, governance & compliance and corporate finance.
- i. Deal was underpinned by $500m of workers savings. Hawa personally travelled to the 9 provinces in South Africa to engage the 150, 000 workers in different locations viz. factories, farms, prisons, harbours, union offices, etc.
Hosted international investor conferences in rural areas in different areas in South Africa. Drove the development of local industries and opening of strategic markets.
- i. Leveraged off our global networks to bring strategic local and global financial & operating investors on the ground in the rural communities. Improved state of readiness of projects for engagement with strategic investors.
Initiated the Buy Local Campaign in South Africa – all the retailers in South Africa committed to this campaign. It brought together all the stakeholders from different sectors and interests and from both private, public and financial sector. This was to protect local manufacturers in textile sector and local jobs.
Mergers & Acquisitions for the 3rd largest insurance company in Africa – conceptualised and executed all their partnerships using alternative distribution channels and non-mainstream partners:
- i. Retailers, co-operative banks, development banks, trade unions, church groups, etc.
- ii. We identified all the targets, developed the business model and funding and acted as the bridge amongst all the parties to the transaction.
We have implemented business and investment partnerships premised on localisation, technology transfer and skills development.
We have done due diligences on hundreds of companies in different sectors with intent to invest in them via private equity funds under management.