Striata announces BEE equity deal

Johannesburg, 30 Jun 2011

Electronic messaging specialist, Striata, has concluded an agreement with black economic empowerment (BEE) equity partner, First Republic Technologies (FRT), for the purchase of a 25.1% shareholding in Striata SA.

Striata is a global provider of software and services in the electronic messaging space. “Our purpose is to enrich the way organisations communicate with their customers and stakeholders by replacing paper processes with smart, effective digital interaction. We provide electronic messaging services to a substantial portion of the financial and telecoms sectors, and were looking for a partner to build on this success and grow our product offerings in new industries,” says Striata SA Managing Director, Alison Treadaway.

New BEE entrant, FRT, brings not only equity participation, but also commercial, legal and strategic experience. Says FRT Director Dheven Dharmalingam: “Our intention is to enter into strategic partnerships where we can participate in building world-class sustainable businesses that create job opportunities for all South Africans. Striata SA is already a leader in the field of digital communication, and we see a multitude of opportunities arising from this partnership.”

Striata's solutions can add value to any organisation that communicates with its customers on a marketing, operational, billing or collections level. According to Treadaway, more businesses are recognising the importance of going green and the effectiveness of communicating electronically. Striata is well positioned to meet this growing digital trend with electronic messaging solutions that improve operational efficiencies and assist companies to achieve environmental targets.

Director and shareholder, Abel Dlamini, is confident that the skills represented by FRT's experienced executives will add value to all parties. “Collectively, we have considerable knowledge in all aspects of business development; including financial, commercial, strategy and technology expertise across many industries.”

Says Treadaway: “We are delighted to have achieved a Level 3 rating on the broad-based scorecard, and we intend to continue to improve our contribution toward black empowerment.”

Striata

Striata is a global e-documents, e-billing and e-marketing software and services specialist. Its Secure eDocument Delivery and Email Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) are solution sets that deliver a rapid reduction in operational costs, quicker responses and an enhanced customer experience. Its e-marketing solutions combine multi-medium electronic messaging capability with proprietary customer profiling technology to enable targeted delivery, high response rates and advanced customer insight reporting.

As a leading international provider of electronic messaging since 1999 with more than 250 blue chip customers, Striata has operations in New York, London, Sydney, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and partners in North, Central & South America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Web site: http://www.striata.com

First Republic Technologies

FRT is a new BEE private equity firm comprised of commercially experienced professionals that partner with African business leaders in building businesses that uplift and empower our communities we live in.

We take private equity shareholding in businesses with which we have a common vision and value system, and with whom we believe we can add value in building sustainable businesses. We seek opportunities to be business partners, and hence we are willing to take risk with our partners on strategic initiatives through the injection of sweat equity.

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