Actis has led the $434m buyout of Tracker, a vehicle tracking company based in South Africa – purchasing a 40% stake in the company.
The deal sees RMB Ventures join the investment consortium, through a restructuring of a stake held by its parent company FirstRand Bank. Following the deal, RMB Ventures holds 12.54% while FirstRand retains 10.14%. Existing Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) investor Mineworkers Investment Company has increased its stake to 30%.
The transaction has been structured as a 100% buyout, with Remgro completely exiting the company. Remgro inherited the stake in the company when it acquired VenFin, Tracker’s founding shareholder.
Actis is expected to lead the company into its next stage of development, in a bid to solidify Tracker’s position in the market. Tracker has helped recover approximately 55,000 vehicles and aided about 10,000 arrests since its inception. The company is expected to continue to expand the services offered, which also includes the provision of intelligent data services. The data can be used by car insurance companies to off¬er usage-based insurance.
“Tracker’s committed management team has built a powerful brand known for high quality customer service, corporate and social responsibility and a strong, differentiated internal culture,” said John van Wyk [pictured], co-head of Africa at Actis “We are looking forward to reinforcing Tracker’s position as the market leading vehicle tracking and monitoring company in South Africa.”
Actis directors Natalie Kolbe and Jonathan Matthews have joined Tracker’s board and will be supported by Louis Mynhardt. RMB Ventures will be represented on the board by its co-head Eutychus Mbuthia and Andrew Aitken, a private equity transactor.
Established in 1996, Tracker offers vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services to individuals and organisations. The company is headquartered in Johannesburg and counts the South African Police Service among its clients.
Article by Wen Zhang, reporter, Private Equity Africa
