The acquisition of Brandcorp by diversified industrial group Bidvest from Ethos Private Equity had dissolved after the required conditions precedent were not met.

Bidvest CEO Brian Joffe said on Monday that the deal, which should have been completed by June 30, would not be pursued by mutual agreement.

The JSE-listed group entered into an agreement with Ethos in December to buy the business for an undisclosed amount.

Meanwhile, the group’s pending acquisition of additional shares in Amalgamated Appliance Holdings (Amaps) continued and would be completed in due course, he said.

Bidvest, which offered R3.50 for each Amaps share, planned to conclude the deal by June, bringing its shareholding to 28.3%, from the current 27.6%.

The deal remained subject to the approval of the requisite majority of Amaps shareholders and the receipt of regulatory approvals, including the JSE, the Take-Over Regulation Panel and the competition authorities, but Joffe was confident that the acquisition would be successfully concluded.

NEW CHAIRPERSON IMMINENT
Meanwhile, the group was on the hunt for a new chairperson as Bidvest nonexecutive director and current chair Cyril Ramaphosa steadily withdrew from participation in  business to assume his new role as African National Congress (ANC) deputy president.

Ramaphosa, who had not yet resigned from the position he has held since 2004, was expected to step down as chairperson at an undisclosed date, but would remain on as nonexecutive director until August to ensure a smooth takeover.

The 59-year-old politician had started stepping down from several company boards to avoid any potential conflicts of interest after his political appointment at the elective conference of the ANC in Mangaung, in December.

Joffe said the group was currently in discussions with an undisclosed candidate and would make an appointment “shortly".