Bidvest Buys 17 per cent Stake in Tiger Wheels

Diversified services group Bidvest has acquired a 17 per cent stake in Tiger Wheels for 239.9 million (£20.65 million), according to a South African Business Report story. Last year, Bidvest acquired McCarthy Motor Holdings and also has an American call option to purchase a further 1.8 million shares by 30 April for 45 million (£3.89 million). If it exercises this option, it will increase its stake in Tiger Wheel to about 20 per cent. Bidvest chairman Brian Joffe will be appointed a non-executive director of Tiger.

Eddie Keizan, Tiger’s executive chairman, said the company welcomed the investment, adding that Mr Joffe would be “a great asset to our board.” Bidvest’s purchase follows Tiger’s report last month that it had sold TSW Manufacturing, its wholly owned aluminium wheel manufacturing business in Babelegi near Pretoria, to its 74 per cent owned international subsidiary ATS Beteiligungs for £6.35 million. The transaction was effective from July 1 last year and finally separated Tiger’s international wheel manufacturing operations and its South African trading interests.

The transaction was prompted by prejudice to minority shareholders in Germany when business was awarded to the Babelegi plant due to the big difference in shareholding in TiWheel’s South African operations compared with its German operations, the magazine reported.

David Cleasby, head of group corporate finance and investor relations at Bidvest, said the company had no comments to make regarding the announcement.