Black-owned investment holding company Sphere has acquired an additional 14.2% interest in software developer BBD, taking its stake in the company to 49.9%.

Together with the 1.1% held by education charity Student Sponsorship Programme, BBD was now 51% black-owned.

BBD’s founders and management retained 49% ownership and would continue in their current management roles providing continuity of leadership, technical skills, client relationships and strategic execution.

“As a local and now majority black-owned company, BBD has some formidable new competitive advantages. Over the years, I have spoken to their many public and private sector clients who have made it clear that they want to do business with high-quality, cost effective and fully empowered local service providers,” said Sphere CEO Itumeleng Kgaboesele.

BBD CEO Peter Searle said that it had been one of BBD’s strategic objectives to become majority black-owned.

“As a South African company, BBD can offer services priced in rands – something many multinational competitors cannot match,” he added.

Sphere and the BBD management team would continue to grow the business organically, although it would also consider acquisitive growth opportunities and future commercial partnerships where it made sense.

“Supporting the critical information and communication technology infrastructure behind many of South Africa’s largest public and private sector companies is an exciting and good business to be in. We will build on our nine-year winning formula of working with BBD management to grow the business,” said Kgaboesele.

Searle noted that the next phase of BBD’s growth as a black-owned company would be to expand into other international markets while continuing to use local expertise.

“As for global expansion, our Africa business will remain linked to the needs of current corporate clients on the continent, while we will increase the work we do in the UK and European business,” he concluded.