[Bronwen Kausch] The privatisation of Ariel Technologies, the IT arm of Denel, with Datavia, the IT division of Transnet, and the IT arm of Eskom is still no further ahead more than a month after the elections.
Zeth Malele, MD of Ariel Technologies, was unwilling to offer further information about any developments in the privatisation and merging plans for the company. He says the matter is in the hands of the Department of Private Enterprises.
Malele denies that the recent layoffs at Spoornet would affect the deal, saying that Spoornet`s predicament was not indicative of the overall position of Transnet and that Datavia would not be affected or viewed in a negative light as result.
Nobusi Shikwane, CE of Datavia, echoed Malele`s position saying that any comment had to come from the government.
Malele accompanied the then minister of Public Enterprises Stella Sigcau on a fact-finding mission to the US, where meetings were held with international players looking into possible investment in the new legal entity formed as a result of the merger.
Andile Nkuhlu, director of restructuring at the Department of Private Enterprises, says the merger still has to go before Cabinet, and could not say when it would reach that stage. Nkuhlu says progress had been made but that the merger would have to be completed before the international equity partner that was under consideration could be approached.
The merged group will focus on providing high-end business solutions, including systems integration, outsourcing, e-commerce and enterprise software implementation.
Minister of Public Enterprises, Jeff Radebe, announced at a news conference on Monday that the need to restructure Spoornet was urgent although, like the Ariel Technologies deal, this had been under discussion for some time (two years in Ariel`s case). Transnet posted a R426 million loss for its last financial year.
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