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Johannesburg - The Congress of SA Trade Unions and its some of its affiliates make up a large portion of Sekunjalo Independent Media's (SIM) shareholding, the company said on Thursday.
Employees of Independent News and Media (INM) would get 10% of the shares in company, SIM chairperson Iqbal Surve said in a statement.
"We know we can continue to grow and run this media group profitably," he said.
Independent News and Media in Ireland confirmed in June that its shareholders voted in favour of the sale of the media group to Sekunjalo.
The two shareholders of Independent News and Media SA (INMSA) would be SIM with 75% and the Government Employees' Pension Fund (GEPF) acting through the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) with 25%.This would ensure that INMSA was "firmly in South African hands", said Surve.
He said 63% of SIM's shares would be held by Sekunjalo Investment Holdings; the Congress of SA Trade Unions' (Cosatu) investment company Kopano Ke Matlaka, represented by Collins Matjila; the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union Investments Group, represented by Andre Kriel; the Food and Allied Workers' Union, represented by Basebenzi Investments and Katishi Masemola; and employees, via a special purpose vehicle.
The other 37% would be held by a number of "broad-based value adding partners", he said.
These included the Black Business Chamber (Western Cape) and various independent South African Women's business community organisations, represented by Lindiwe Barbara Ngcobo, and Manemele Maria.
Sekunjalo Digital Media would help drive a digital and mobile growth strategy; and the Mvezo Development Trust, represented by Mandla Mandela, would provide for the development of the communities of the Eastern Cape.
They were joined by the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Association (through the Military Veterans' Trust); and the Western Cape Development Trust, which would focus on the provision of bursaries for journalists from black communities.
Other shareholders were prominent entrepreneurs and business people such as Sandile Zungu, and media and advertising personalities Tim Modise and Groovin Nchabeleng, from the Blue Print Group.
"The Sekunjalo Consortium will at all times have control of INMSA, with a number of funding partners sharing in the equity of the company," said Surve
Funding would come from SIM itself, from banks, the trade union investment companies, the GEPF, and a Chinese consortium.
"To ensure that the business has sufficient capital resources to reinvest in vernacular titles, digital strategy, reinvigorating existing titles and an African growth strategy, additional funding has been arranged which may see a further shareholding/investment of 20 percent placed with the Chinese consortium," he said.
INMSA owns the Cape Times, the Cape Argus, the Weekend Argus, the Daily Voice, The Star, Pretoria News, Saturday Star, Sunday Independent, Diamond Fields Advertiser, Weekend Pretoria News, Daily News, The Mercury, Post, Independent on Saturday, the Sunday Tribune, the Zulu daily newspaper, Isolezwe, and its Saturday and Sunday editions.
It also owns a number of weekly community newspapers in the Western Cape, and has investments in the community newspaper markets in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
It also owns and runs Independent Online (IOL) and publishes three Conde Nast international magazine brands: House & Garden, GQ and Glamour.
Surve said he strongly believed in the future of print media in South Africa.
"This is the beginning of a strategy to invest in newspapers across Africa, and to focus on developing digital and other cross-media opportunities."
