Johannesburg – Bopa Moruo, a 100% black-owned and black-managed private equity management company, has acquired express parcel and courier group SkyNet SA for an undisclosed amount.
The deal was this week given the green light by competition authorities. Since its establishment in Johannesburg in 1988, SkyNet has grown to employ more than 1 600 people, with over 35 hubs countrywide and a fleet of about 800 vehicles.
SkyNet is now one of South Africa’s biggest express parcel and courier businesses. Founded in 2011, Bopa Moruo has become a formidable mid-market private equity firm.
The group invests in established businesses with experienced executive management, attractive business fundamentals, and long-term prospects for profitability, growth, and cash generation.
Some of its investments include DSD Shopfitters, which specialises in gaming tables, slot bases, boardrooms, and furniture manufacturing for the hotel and gaming industry.
One of its other prominent investments is Sanitech, a mobile sanitation and hygiene solutions provider in southern Africa.
The company is run by experienced executives Nthime Khoele and chartered accountant Boitumelo Tlhabanelo.
They are responsible for the leadership, management, and direction of the investment management activities and operations management activities at Bopa Moruo.
Before establishing Bopa Moruo Private Equity, they were directors at Brait Private Equity. Khoele could not be drawn into discussing the details of the SkyNet deal, merely saying that the company is in the process of clinching another deal linked with the SkyNet transaction.
SkyNet did not respond to questions sent to it two weeks ago.
The courier company recently undertook a major move to a larger, more advanced facility in Port Elizabeth.
The Southern Africa Venture Capital and Private Equity Industry Association (Savca) has recently launched its annual Savca 2021 Private Equity Industry Survey, which shares statistics and insights on fundraising activity, investments, exits, and funds under management, and shows the growth of the local private equity industry during 2020.
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were expectations of going deep into contractionary territory, and though there was a decrease in fundraising of about 22.1%, it was still higher than in the 2016-2018 period.
This is seen as an encouraging finding and an indication of a possible rebound for the South African market.
According to the survey, 72.5% of funds came from inside South Africa, with the majority coming from pension and endowment funds.
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