By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
The Namibian Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) company Onyewu Holdings has acquired a further 14 percent share in Mondipak Namibia, bringing its total shareholding in the company to 40 percent.
The parent company, Mondipak is a fully integrated South African paper packaging company, which has eight domestic and 30 international plants.
The company’s core business is corrugated packaging products, where it is one of the market leaders in the South African agricultural sector, delivering 200 000 tonnes of corrugated packaging per annum.
Onyewu Holdings acquired a 26 percent shareholding in Mondipak Namibia, owned by Anglo-American, in April 2004, making it the first ever Namibian BEE deal by the giant multi-national.
In a statement released by the company, the chairman of Onyewu Holdings, Samuel J. Victor, said the company paid back the loan for the initial 26 percent stake in a record three years, showing that they are serious business partners.
The company has acquired the additional 14 percent stake at a cost of N$18 million.
It said the latest acquisition of additional shares in Mondipak firmly placed Onyewu Holdings among the leading BEE companies in Namibia.
Victor further noted that in his view their partnership with Mondipak Namibia showed they were not merely paying lip service but have a genuine say in how the company is run as directors of Mondipak.
“Our partnership with Mondipak gives the lie to the many criticisms about BEE deals, and we urge other BEE companies to emulate Onyewu Holdings,” he said.
The company said Shangelao Capital (Pty) Ltd structured the BEE deal – a corporate finance advisory company, which also structured the initial deal.
According to Onyewu Holdings, a team of young and dynamic businesspeople, who have pooled their diverse skills, runs the company.
In addition to Victor, a leading Namibian businessman, the two other Namibian directors are Lyndon Gaidzanwa, a well-known chartered accountant and Hendrik Dawids, a respected farmer and businessman from Walvis Bay.
In another BEE deal involving the same company, Onyewu Holdings acquired an 85 percent stake in Tube-o-Flex.
The company said it was not content with being a mere owner, but took an active role in the day-to-day operations of the loss-making company.
According to Onyewu, they have now turned the Tube-o-Flex operation around.
Onyewu is currently looking to expand their business to Angola and negotiations are at an advanced stage with their Angolan partners.