Cape Town - JSE listed African Equity Empowerment Investments Limited (AEEI), formerly Sekunjalo Investments Limited announced on Tuesday that it has acquired a 25% plus one share stake in the local operations of Saab Grintek Defence (SGD), the Swedish civil and defence giant.
AEEI acquired the stake for R120m.
"The market will be seeing and hearing a lot more. We have the expertise. We are probably one of the top empowerment companies and know how to deliver," AEEI [JSE:AEE] CEO Khalid Abdulla told Fin24.
"The last three to five years we have had a lot of growth, but there is no point in reinventing the wheel. We already had a 5% stake in Saab about five years ago and if they did not believe in us and in the good relationship we have built up over the years, they would not have been interested in us obtaining a larger stake."
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Abdulla said Saab is about to grow significantly and together the two companies will look at the rest of Africa as well, especially in the technology sector.
"AEEI said in the past that our focus is to grow in South Africa and on the continent. We are already in about seven different African countries and we want to grow even further," he said.
"Brics is also an opportunity for us as we see big steps for growth even beyond Africa. We said we are going to expand and we are putting our money where our mouthes are."
Abdulla emphasised that it has always been part of the AEEI’s growth strategy to become an empowerment partner of choice to multinationals due to what he terms the company's "credibility, expertise and credentials built up over the years".
In the past AEEI has finalised similar transactions with British Telecoms SA and Pioneer Foods.
SGD’s export market represents almost 75% of the South African company’s total turnover. The Department of Trade and Industry, in partnership with Proudly South Africa and Brand South Africa, awarded SGD the Best Exporter Award by the SA Premier Business Awards in both 2013 and 2014.
Leif Karlsson, acting CEO of SGD sees AEEI as a strategic partner.
"We see this agreement as further strengthening our commitment to the industrial growth and prosperity of South Africa, while at the same time supporting our endeavours to supply security solutions in Africa,” said Karlsson.
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