News & Insights

The Competition Commission has approved the transaction whereby Harith General Partners has acquired a 46% stake in Mergence Investment Managers. The deal will allow a shared focus on strategic infrastructure investments to stimulate African economic growth, and positions the merged entity as a formidable diversified black-owned financial services player.

Following the news that the Competition Tribunal has granted both MTN and Rain leave to intervene in the pending merger hearing between Vodacom and Maziv, Mergence’s Peter Takaendesa, Head: Equities gave extensive comment to Business Report, including that future competition between fibre and 5G mobile data connectivity appeared to be one of the key focus areas for the competition authorities as well as some industry competitors.

Sibanye-Stillwater has acquired US-based metals recycler Reldan Group of Companies. What does this mean for the counter which dropped on the news? Malose Mamashela, Investment Analyst at Mergence Investment Managers, says the deal aligns with Sibanye-Stillwater’s strategic positioning into green or future-facing metals, although there are several headwinds.

Ann Crotty of Financial Mail reports extensively on MTN, its exit from the Middle East and increased focus on Africa, including a troubled situation in Nigeria. Mergence Head: Equities, Peter Takaendesa, added insights to the article.

Peter Takaendesa, Head: Equities at Mergence Investment Managers and telecoms expert, commented in News24 on MTN following the company’s recently released quarterly results.

How does one broaden the scope of infrastructure into portfolios given liquidity constraints and a limited universe in public markets? Private market investments are the best route for now, explains Kasief Isaacs, Head: Private Markets at Mergence Investment Managers.

Where to e-tail in SA given Amazon’s recent official launch? Mergence Head: Equities, Peter Takaendesa, spoke to ITweb about Amazon’s potential threat to existing players, and the scope for competition given that SA’s e-commerce sector is still in its infancy.

The Harith-Mergence deal, including the acquisition of a 5% stake in Mergence by a black women-led entity will drive consolidation and scale creation that will bolster Mergence’s role in the financial services sector.

The trend of delisting on the JSE carries implications for various stakeholders, including pension funds. Mergence CIO Brad Preston shares his insights on this topic in Today’s Trustee.

Utilising statistics in the realm of sports: The Mergence Market Snippet about the Rugby World Cup, authored by CIO Brad Preston, piqued the interest of Tim Cohen, the editor at Daily Maverick.