The Imperial group said on Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement with Sasfin to acquire 70% of Sasfin Premier Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sasfin.

Sasfin Premier Logistics would be renamed Imperial Sasfin Logistics.

The transaction would allow Imperial Sasfin Logistics and Imperial Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial, to offer end-to-end import and export solutions.

“We recognised an excellent fit with Imperial, given the group’s capability in warehousing, distribution and transport, and business experience and expertise in Africa and elsewhere,” said Sasfin CEO Roland Sassoon.

“This, combined with Sasfin’s complementary lending and trade solutions to clients, including trade and debtor finance, FX execution and advisory services, makes Imperial Sasfin Logistics arguably the most all-encompassing one-stop solution for clients involved in importing and exporting product.

“We are confident that our collective skills, experience and
capability will see the emergence of a formidable new player in the South African market.”

Imperial sought to partner with Sasfin to leverage, among other capabilities, the group’s international network, systems and technology, including a software platform developed specifically for a complex and diverse compliance environment, noted Imperial Managed Solutions CEO Johan Truter.

“Importers and exporters face many risks which could potentially lead to inefficiencies and compromise profitability. Our partnership with Sasfin has created a strong logistics entity to which clients can fully outsource their international logistics requirements.
 
“We can mitigate their risks, manage their complexity, and they do not need to deal with multiple parties in the supply chain.

“Our aim is to simplify global trade challenges for clients.”

Imperial did not want to disclose the value of the acquisition.