Mint Electronics - a subsidiary of Limpopo-based mining and energy company Sekoko Holdings - has acquired a controlling 75% stake in one of the firms involved in the production of home-grown mobile devices, CZ Electronics.
In October, ITWeb reported on a joint venture by two South African companies, Seemahale Telecoms and CZ Electronics, which teamed up to design and manufacture smartphones and tablets in a Boksburg factory, on Johannesburg's East Rand.
In a statement this week, Mint Electronics said it had entered a "landmark deal" with CZ Electronics and that it would launch "the first South African-built smartphones and tablets" within the second half of this year. The company did not respond to queries around Seemahale's role in the venture.
Deal motivation
Mint Electronics is seemingly a purpose-built subsidiary of Sekoko, which says it has identified the need to diversify its investment portfolio, due to the large amount of capital that went into the development of its mining projects over the last eight years.
"To this end, Sekoko Holdings has made the decision to diversify into other sectors so as to counter the very cyclical nature of mining."
CZ Electronics, meanwhile, says it identified the need to restructure its shareholding in order to introduce a new partner that will address capital requirements and its empowerment credentials.
The company says the purchase price for the deal with Mint is confidential. It did, however, confirm the acquisition materially reflects its net asset value.
Chief operating officer of CZ Electronics Rob Bruggeman says the company "explored many other opportunities" prior to concluding the deal with Mint Electronics.
CZ Electronics was established in 2002 with the acquisition of the production assets of the Alcatel factory in Boksburg. The company employs 300 staff, most of which are previously disadvantaged women.
The smartphone and tablet venture has seen CZ Electronics invest almost R10 million in research and development over the past two years.
Product particulars
CZ Electronics says the device manufacturing process will include assembly, as well as its surface mount technology for the building of circuit boards.
The smartphone and tablet will be produced at the Boksburg manufacturing plant, which the company says has a capacity of approximately 280 000 components per hour.
Bruggeman says the firm believes its mobile devices will "revolutionise the market, offering ordinary South Africans a highly-competitive alternative to existing [smartphones and tablets]".
He says the products will be designed to the highest specifications and built in accordance with the ISO 9002:2008 standard.
More details on the products will be given in coming weeks, says CZ Electronics.
Share