(4 minutes read)
· Abu Dhabi-based Imperial Capital Investments and the Landile Shembe Foundation have emerged as anchor investors for the SA Express equity crowdfunding initiative
· The idea is that Imperial Capital and the Landile Shembe Foundation will join FLY SAX as anchor investors and will set a purchase price for the Fly SAX bid is R50 million, payable in the form of a bank guarantee by the joint liquidators
· South African law prohibits more than 25% foreign ownership in local airlines
Abu Dhabi-based Imperial Capital Investments and the Landile Shembe Foundation have emerged as anchor investors for the SA Express equity crowdfunding initiative. This was revealed by Uprise Africa, which is facilitating the deal. It is an “equity crowdfunding” platform that allows investors from around the world to invest capital into South African businesses in exchange for equity shares.
SA Express was placed under provisional liquidation on 29 April 2020 after its business rescue process failed. The proposal for crowdfunding by a group called Fly SAX, is backed by some employees. It was selected as the preferred bid after the airline’s provisional liquidators concluded their process of due diligence on the 17 expressions of interest in the group.
The idea is that Imperial Capital and the Landile Shembe Foundation will join FLY SAX as anchor investors and will set a purchase price for the Fly SAX bid is R50 million, payable in the form of a bank guarantee by the joint liquidators. South African law prohibits more than 25% foreign ownership in local airlines.
Imperial Capital, which is a licensed private fund and investment company, has US$650 million worth of assets under management, with interests in energy, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and manufacturing industries. It has an investor base (stakeholders) in Asia and Europe.
The transaction has to be approved by the provisional liquidators and the Department of Public Enterprises. A court date has been set for 28 January 2021 in order to give interested parties more time to conclude their proposed deals for the disposal of the airline.
