Oceana Group plans sell of its cold storage business, Commercial Cold Storage Group, or CCS Logistics, for R760 millon so that it can focus on new opportunities in the fish protein sector.
The business would be sold to the minority interests in CCS Namibia, net of the value accruing to minority interests in the Namibian (CCS Namibia 31%) and Duncan Dock (CCS Ports 30%) operations.
The implied 100% enterprise value including minorities of the transaction was R895m.
Oceana said the purchaser was a special purpose vehicle owned by a consortium comprising Old Mutual Life Assurance Company, acting on behalf of the Infrastructural, Developmental and Environmental Assets Managed Fund (IDEAS), and the African Infrastructure Investment Fund 4 Partnership (AIIF4).
The main beneficial owners of the consortium members are IDEAS Fund, AIIF4 Fund, which is managed and advised by AIIM through a management agreement with AIIF4 Partnership; Bauta Logistics, owned by a company controlled by its MD Michael Osekereh; and Mokobela Shakati, sponsored by Moss Ngoasheng, and Monhla Hlahla.
AIIM is a private equity investment manager and subsidiary of Old Mutual Alternative Investments focused on investments in ports and logistics, energy transition and digital infrastructure.
AIIM investment director Damilola Agbaje said the cold chain logistical infrastructure sector is underdeveloped, and in places non-existent, across sub-Saharan Africa, and this investment diversified AIIM’s portfolio into a high growth and high impact area.
“South Africa, which possesses the continent’s most advanced infrastructure at 13m³ of cold storage per 1 000 residents, lags comparable economies such as Egypt and Brazil, which have 105m³ and 83m³, respectively, our research has indicated,” he said.
“This transaction signifies AIIM’s entry into the cold storage sector which seeks to establish a pan-African cold storage platform,” he said.
Bauta Logistics operates in the food logistics sector with the aim of being a leading partner in temperature-controlled logistics for the Middle East-Africa region food and agriculture industries.
Mokobela Shakati is a strategic investment and empowerment partner in the consortium.
“Bauta is pleased to partner with AIIM and Mokobela Shakati in establishing this pan- African cold storage platform. As we build out a network of temperature-controlled warehouses in key demand hubs and food production regions on the continent, we are excited about the role that CCH will play in facilitating intracontinental trade,” said Osekereh.
CCS Logistic offers primary temperature-controlled storage and handling services of mainly perishable products on behalf of major manufacturers, exporters and importers. It has six cold storage facilities with a storage capacity of about 100 000 pallets across South Africa and Namibia.
Oceana said the disposal would enable them to allocate capital to opportunities more aligned to its strategic objectives.
Oceana said the purchaser also had ambitious goals of expanding the CCS Logistics footprint on the African continent. CSS Logistics’ net assets amounted to R156.8m (excluding cash) as at September 30, 2021. Taxed profit for the year ended September 30, 2021 was R70.4m.
AIIM and its investment partners, Bauta Logistics and Mokobela Shakati intended to invest up to $150 million in the platform, inclusive of the initial asset acquisitions as well as a pipeline of further acquisitions and greenfield development projects.
BUSINESS REPORT