Maia Capital Partners, a Johannesburg-based boutique impact investment firm has financed a BEE consortium led by former deputy minister of finance Mcebisi Jonas to acquire a minority BEE stake in Apex South Africa, a local subsidiary of the fast-growing Apex Group.
The other member of the consortium is erstwhile commissioner of the National Planning Commission Noluthando Gosa.
Apex Group is a global financial services provider providing financial, fund and corporate services in over 39 countries. The deal was concluded for an undisclosed amount.
The company employs 12 000 people across 94 offices worldwide, which include Cape Town and Johannesburg, with a client retention rate of 99% and having assets of around $130-billion.
The Apex Group acquired Maitland in 2022 and as part of their growth strategy and plans to relocate its global fund administration services from current
locations to various global service centres by creating a global fund administration back-office hub in South Africa.
Dinao Lerutla, co-founder and managing partner of Maia Capital said: “This transaction not only showcases Maia’s ability and expertise in delivering bespoke financial solutions to its clients, but also its capabilities and expertise in niche sectors, which have the potential to directly influence South Africa’s economic growth.”
Jonas is chairperson of MTN, Africa’s biggest telecoms operator with more than 200 million subscribers. He had to resign from the board of asset management company Sygnia, owned by businesswoman Magda Wierzycka, following the deal with Apex, to avoid conflict of interest.
Jonas said: “We look forward to working with Peter Hughes (Apex Group founder and CEO) and the Apex Group, as we jointly drive meaningful growth and development in the South African financial services sector.”
His views were shared by Gosa, who said: “What attracted us to Apex Group is its support for South African talent, demonstrated by Peter’s vision to make the South African business a hub from which to service its clients globally, which will have a positive impact for much needed jobs in our country.”
Sunday World reported three weeks ago that Maia Capital Partners had entered into a partnership with Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) to invest in Green Climate Ventures (GCV) to promote digital access and energy infrastructure.
The R125-million transaction deal has been invested through the Maia Debt Impact Fund 1 – Maia’s maiden impact fund, which began investing in projects and companies in December 2021.
The investment by Maia Capital forms part of a R1.5-billion preference share facility facilitated by the Nedbank CIB and provided to GCV.
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