With COVID-19 having forced organisations to put on ice transactions to acquire or merge with new businesses, a black women-owned consortium has seen a silver lining in the dark cloud of economic gloom. The consortium has concluded an acquisition which will see it participating in South Africa’s economic revival through infrastructure development. What makes the development even more relevant is that infrastructure development has been touted as a catalyst to kickstart economic revival in a country battling with high youth unemployment.
Mahuma Investment Holdings (MIH) – a 100% black women-owned, controlled and managed investment company – along with Randvest Capital Investments, and two other investors, have made a pivotal acquisition of Aveng Infraset’s Brakpan and De Aar facilities. The two assets will be used to manufacture specialised precast concrete products to serve clients involved in rail, telecommunications and civil engineering. The new company will trade as Colossal Concrete Products.
On significance of the deal, Colossal Concrete Products Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gwen Mahuma, said: “Based on Aveng Infraset’s renowned reputation and track record – as well as its impressive portfolio of infrastructure and capabilities – our strategic acquisition of the Brakpan and De Aar plants was a really defining moment for us. This is because it represents a golden opportunity not only to service our long-term vision of diversifying into different vertical industries, but also as an excellent springboard for our planned pan-African expansion.”
Co-investor in the Colossal Concrete Products consortium and the company’s Chief Operational Officer (COO) and Director, Mmapitso Kiewiet, agreed: “As Colossal Concrete Products, we will continue to provide the right solutions to meet industry requirements.”
The transaction includes the retention of all staff, the relevant plant equipment, core assets and facilities, intellectual property (IP) and licences for a wide range of precast rails, poles, masts, pipes, culverts, enclosures and related specialised product ranges
Infraset was originally a company within the renowned multibillion-rand Grinaker Group and later became a core asset of JSE-listed international infrastructure and resources company Aveng. The company has been manufacturing a diverse range of high-quality, innovative precast concrete products in compliance with South African National Standards using the ISO 9001 quality management system for over 62 years.
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