Black-owned and black-controlled IT group, to seek listing on JSE Tuesday, February 10, 1998 Infiniti Technologies Limited (Infiniti), a new age black-owned and black-controlled IT group providing comprehensive products and services spanning the entire value chain, is to seek a listing on The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in the Industrial - "Electronics & Electrical" sector following a private placing of shares.Vuli Cuba, chairman of Infiniti, said that 56,5 per cent of the group was owned by a black empowerment grouping consisting of a consortium which included companies and individuals with powerful IT credentials and which comprised Safika and Katleho (35 per cent), Kensani (10 per cent) and HNR Computers (Pty) Limited (HNR) (11,5 per cent).Mr Cuba, executive chairman of Safika and Safika Technologies which are active in IT, telecommunications and related industries, has more than 14 years` IT-related experience with Andersen Consulting and with the Monitor Company. He said that Infiniti would be the first IT company to be truly black-owned and controlled from day one of its listing. "Founded in the new South Africa, Infiniti is not simply a re-engineered or revamped existing company. It is a fresh organisation harnessing proven and established expertise, and current developments in South Africa clearly favour well established black empowerment vehicles with a strong technical orientation." "Smaller black IT companies have in the past had to work with `big brothers` in order to complete larger contracts in the government sector. Infiniti already has the critical mass to be able to tackle large projects successfully. "Both Safika and Katleho had previously identified IT as a strategic sector and this investment gives us a broad-based vehicle in the sector. Our aim will be to bring in other black professionals to help realise the full potential of this exciting and dynamic group which we will grow organically and by means of suitable acquisitions." Deputy chairman of Infiniti is Mike Roussos, a former trade unionist as well as head of human resources in Gencor, and a partner in Katleho Holdings, which specialises in transforming organisations. The chief executive is Rasheed Hargey, who founded HNR. HNR is one of the top three distribution companies in the SA market. Gayla Cook, a non-executive director of Infiniti representing Kensani Consortium, the empowerment group focusing on high-growth industries, said that Kensani as both a gender sensitive and broad-based empowerment group, would assist Infiniti in exploiting opportunities in both the public and private sectors Other non-executive directors include Moss Ngoasheng, a founder of Safika and economic adviser to Thabo Mbeki, Alan Roberts, a founder-partner of Katleho Holdings and adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Lands Derek Hanekom, and John Glennie, co-founder of FSA Distribution.Executive directors include Paul Blakey, founder of the Pin-Point Group; Peter Flanagan, co-founder of the Pin-Point Group; James Darroch, co-founder of FSA Distribution; Cassim Parak, MD of HNR Computers; Ian Joffe, founder of NuLogic and Stephen MacIntosh, founder of ISS.Mr Hargey said that the Infiniti group consisted of three autonomous though complementary divisions - the value added services division, the technical services division and the product distribution division. "They incorporate the business of five high-performing, fast-growing companies which have been successful players in different sectors of the IT industry for up to 12 years including my own award-winning company, HNR, which I have run for the past 10 years." "The powerful synergies emerging from the combined operations in the divisions are reflected in the fact that proforma turnover has grown more than fivefold to R391,9m over the past five years while fully diluted proforma earnings per share have increased more than 10 times to 8,6 cents. "Infiniti`s operations are concentrated at the high growth end of the IT market and its future profit performance is expected to be in line with analysts` forecasts of substantial growth in net earnings over the next 12 months in the IT industry as a whole. "Infiniti is well placed to benefit from the fact that the fastest and largest growth in the industry occurs in communications, networking and client computing which are areas well served by its divisions," concluded Mr Hargey.Further information about Infiniti Technologies and its profit history will be found in the prelisting statement which is expected to be to be published in February.
Share
