Unisys Africa has sold 30% of its shares to Cyberknowledge Systems (CKS), a black-owned IT consultancy company, for an undisclosed amount. The sale of the shares took effect on 11 August.
This is the first time a US IT company has sold part of its holdings to an empowerment partner in SA, according to Unisys Africa MD Barry Holt. The deal is also a significant milestone for Unisys, as it represents the company`s support of empowerment, he says.
"Our preferred solution was to acquire an equity partner that provided the required empowerment credentials and became directly involved in taking the company forward," he says. In addition to its empowerment credentials, CKS has clients in the public sector, mining, communications and media sectors.
This provides Unisys access to a client base that the company did not previously have.
"CKS also brings to the partnership its expertise in high-level business consulting and a client base that is complementary to that of Unisys. This provides new opportunities for growth for Unisys," says Holt.
Financing the transaction
The funding for the transaction was accessed through a combination of CKS capital and assistance from Investec, which has in turn acquired 25% in the CKS holding company, says CKS chairman Mohamed Madhi. CKS acquired vesting rights on the shares immediately upon conclusion of the deal.
CKS employees will be integrated into Unisys, says Madhi. They will apply their consulting skills in new cross-industry teams to support current Unisys and CKS accounts, as well as broadening their client base to match their combined strengths.
"This demonstrates CKS`s commitment to the transaction," Madhi says.
The CKS entity will, however, continue to exist and can acquire business interests elsewhere.
Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi, Mohamed Madhi and Patrick Ngwenya have been appointed as CKS representatives to the Unisys board, with Mkhwanazi as non-executive chairman. Unisys representatives are Barry Holt, Allan Currie, Alwyn Welch and Gary Purvey (both based in the UK).
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