Victor van Aswegen |
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| Dedicated wine industry BEE firm launched |
| 24 March 2006 by CapeWine Acquisition Capital |
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| The formation of a dedicated BEE equity transactions firm for the South African wine industry was announced in Cape Town yesterday (23 March 2006). |
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?CapeWine Acquisition Capital was created specifically to fulfil the need in the SA wine industry for black economic empowerment transactions,? says founder and CEO Victor van Aswegen. ?Although some leading industry players have announced BEE transactions in recent years, the ownership structure of the wine industry today still remains largely unchanged.?
The Wine-BEE Charter and Industry Scorecard, currently in its 7th draft, is due for completion in the course of 2006. ?As the industry completes the formalisation of its BEE goals and commitments over the coming months, the need for transactions to give effect to this commitment to transformation will undoubtedly increase,? says Van Aswegen. ?An enormous amount of work will have to be done over the next three to five years to meaningfully and substantially transform the structures of ownership, management and control in the wine industry.?
Van Aswegen is careful to point out that CapeWine Acquisition Capital is not a general BEE consultancy firm: ?The industry scorecards make it clear that BEE is multi-faceted: it includes the diverse aspects of ownership, control, and management, preferential procurement, employment equity, skills development, and rural development and poverty alleviation. There are experienced specialists in the field offering their expertise to advise companies on the best approach to BEE in all its aspects, and we do not intend to compete with them. Our focus is on the ownership aspect of empowerment.?
?CapeWine Acquisition Capital?s mission is quite specific," says Van Aswegen: ?executing equity transactions which deliver empowerment by bringing about black ownership or part-ownership of existing enterprises in the wine industry.?
In order to achieve this, the company intends to work with various empowerment groupings. ?We take a broad view of the wine industry: included in our field of vision are not only the primary producers, but also the suppliers and service providers to the primary producers, as well as distributors and retailers, and it extends as far as wine tourism and property. We foresee that we will co-operate with different empowerment groups in the various sub-industries.?
On its website, www.cwacapital.com, the company describes the full suite of private equity investment banking services it offers: from transaction origination and conceptualisation underpinned by thorough financial analysis, to financial structuring and debt and equity capital raising, through to legal agreement review, closure, and post-acquisition investment management.
?We have a hard-nosed, long-term approach to value,? says Van Aswegen. ?We are aware of the challenges currently facing the industry. We respect the experience of the owners and managers of the businesses we work with, and we work in partnership with them. We seek to bring to existing businesses valuable new relationships and alliances. We stay with the deal once it has been concluded, patiently working to ensure its success, protecting the capital, building value. Empowerment ? to be sustainable ? must not distract or detract from growth and value creation, but will have to contribute to it.?
CapeWine Acquisition Capital (Pty) Ltd
Contact Victor van Aswegen:
victor@cwacapital.com
082 552 70 63 |
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