Tilos MD Victoria Vaksman has confirmed that she is leaving the company, but stresses that this is unrelated to the merger between Tilos and German company COSA.
ITWeb reported yesterday that SA-based Tilos is merging with COSA, which has offices in Cologne in Germany and Vianen in the Netherlands.
It also reported that Vaksman was leaving Tilos and that COSA CEO Dietmar Ley would take the helm of the combined entity.
Vaksman has taken issue with the article, alleging that it gives the wrong impression about the circumstances behind her departure.
She says in a letter to ITWeb that although she was asked to manage the group, she told major shareholder Ethos Private Equity last year that she would leave once the deal was completed, as she is planning to move into the international investment sector.
"At the beginning of 2004 I received a mandate to start with the implementation of an international strategy for Tilos, which included the development of international distribution channels/partnerships in UK, Germany and Russia and an identification of the strategic acquisition in Europe, as we realised from the very beginning that we would need an established base in Europe," she writes.
"I identified COSA as the right acquisition for Tilos, negotiated the deal and brought it to the attention of Ethos, our majority shareholder.
"I was asked by Ethos to manage the group, but considering my personal plans to move into the international investment business, I warned Ethos in 2004 that I would help to get Tilos to a certain stage in its development, I would help to complete the deal and then I`d move on with my alternative plans.
"I was asked then at least for a while to manage the group and not to disturb the market. I gave my resignation a long time before the deal with COSA was finalised and my resignation has got nothing to do with this deal; the opposite: I initiated the deal with COSA and helped to bring it to its successful conclusion."
Related story:
Tilos merges with German firm
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