Business Connexion (BCX) has sold its 70% stake in Destiny Electronic Commerce, days after wrapping up a deal that saw it buy the unit, and four others, from UCS.
Last December, BCX said it was buying Accsys, CEB Maintenance Africa, Destiny Electronic Commerce, UCS Solutions and UCS Technology Services for R614 million from UCS. All of the subsidiaries - apart from Destiny, in which UCS has a 70% stake - were wholly-owned by the listed software company.
The deal became effective on 11 May, but the next day both companies issued a statement indicating a third party was keen to buy one of the former UCS subsidiaries.
Yesterday, the groups said BCX sold the 70% stake in Destiny to VeriFone Singapore, a subsidiary of VeriFone Systems, for R255 million. UCS will share in the upside of the deal, it says in a statement.
Destiny Electronic Commerce, which trades as CSC, is an electronic payments solutions provider and is headquartered in Johannesburg, with offices in Cape Town and Durban.
CSC supplies and supports payment systems for banking, retail and petroleum, providing value-added services, end-to-end estate management services and tools.
“SA is a very attractive market for VeriFone as the country has a highly-developed infrastructure, but also has the growth potential of an emerging economy. This acquisition will provide a base on which to expand VeriFone's Africa business into the company's next $100 million market,” says VeriFone CEO Douglas Bergeron.
“VeriFone is gaining a highly-talented management team and 160 employees who possess payments expertise and proven skills,” Bergeron says. “We are eager to complete the integration of CSC's operations into VeriFone.”
BCX's purchase of the UCS subsidiaries was the largest the group has ever made. It was mostly financed through shares, which were unbundled to UCS shareholders. Another R30 million will be paid if the UCS units meet certain profit warranties.
CEO Benjamin Mophatlane said in April that UCS will boost BCX's position in the market, and offers extensive cross-selling opportunities. In addition, he noted, there are opportunities to drive UCS's offerings into Africa, where BCX has a presence in Namibia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Kenya.
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