Lesley Stones
12 April 2007
Johannesburg — SIEMENS Southern Africa has bumped up its black empowerment profile by selling more shares to two of its existing investors.
Linacre Investments and Business Venture Investments No626 have both bought an extra 2%, making Siemens 30% black owned. The investors are subsidiaries of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings and New Africa Millennium Telecommunications respectively, with Siemens Germany holding the other 70%. The amount of cash involved in the deal was not disclosed.
CEO Sigi Proebstl said the move reinforced Siemens' commitment to transformation and recognised the contribution the two partners had made to growing its business in the region.
"We see black economic empowerment as much more than a financial transaction; it is a business imperative," he said. "Black empowerment is all about how our strategic partners are able to add business and financial value to the organisation and contribute to our overall objectives as one of the region's leading electronic and electrical engineering companies."
The move by Siemens outpaces efforts by SAP. Although SAP has spoken about selling shares in its local operations to black investors, MD Claas Kuehnemann says other options, including equity equivalents, are also being assessed.
The local subsidiary has been restructured so shares can be sold if necessary, with its other African activities spun into a separate entity and the previously separate SAP Africa and SAP Public Services merging to form SAP SA. Now Blitec, part of the Black IT Forum, is converting its 30% stake in SAP Public Services into a 10,7% stake in SAP SA.
SAP originally planned to sell 25% of its local activities to black investors and chose two potential partners in 2004. Then it shelved the plan, pending clarity on exactly what was required.
Kuehnemann says once the Blitec shares are restructured, SAP will begin the next step. That may involve selling more shares or opting for equity equivalents, by investing in the economy or forming joint activities with black partners. "There is no rush, we want to move forward but in a careful approach."
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