J&J Group has bought 25% of Pretoria-based financial IT company Perago. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
The acquisition of half of Comparex`s 50% stake in Perago is the first step in J&J`s plan to develop a software company to take on the international payments market.
Perago was established in 1999 as a private company with Comparex owning 50% plus a share, with the balance held by Perago management and staff.
The disposal of 25% minus a share to strategic investment and management business J&J Group leaves Comparex with 25% and management and staff with 50% plus a share.
J&J was founded by former telecommunications minister Jay Naidoo and Jayendra Naidoo, former chairman of Nedlac, the economic advisory body to government.
J&J chief investment officer Duarte da Silva says Perago can form the cornerstone of a new South African proprietary software company that can take on the payments world market.
"There were two main reasons for this acquisition. The first is the fact that Perago has world-class intellectual property in the electronic payments space. That has been proven in that it has gone up against international people and won.
"The second is the capability the people at Perago have in the electronic payments space. We have looked at this space and believe that SA has the ability to compete with major international players, and our intention is to make further investments in this space."
Da Silva says J&J is seeking to broaden its involvement in the payments/electronic funds transfer arena, and investments into other companies in this spectrum will be high on the J&J Group`s agenda.
He says J&J is providing Perago with an immediate market in the African central bank arena, will help fulfil Perago`s broader vision of playing a role in the payment space, and also provides it with the ability to raise cash.
J&J is invested in several businesses in the financial and technology areas, including Miraculum, One Card Systems and Consilience Technologies.
Da Silva says although the investments look disparate at the moment, the various acquisitions form part of a coherent strategy.
J&J is also planning to make a significant IT acquisition for scale.
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