JSE-listed Bidvest will dispose of two of its entities – Bidvest Bank and FinGlobal, according to a statement on Sens on Wednesday. This follows the group’s announcement earlier this year that it intends to dispose of Bidvest Life. The group expects the transaction to be concluded by the end of 2024.
Bidvest’s operations include financial, freight management, automotive, and cleaning services.
Its financial services division provides banking and related products and services to South African corporates, businesses, and consumers through Bidvest Bank and FinGlobal, which offers financial migration services to South Africans.
In addition, it offers short- and long-term insurance products through Bidvest Insurance, Bidvest Life, and Compendium.
This step aligns with the strategy of diversifying into allied automotive services, with the group’s remaining short-term insurance businesses within its financial services division focusing primarily on vehicle insurance cover and related value-added products.
“These businesses will be transferred to the group’s automotive division,” it says. “After the disposal of Bidvest Life, the group will comprise six divisions: Services International, Freight, Services South Africa, Commercial Products, Branded Products, and Automotive,” it notes.
Adcock Ingram will remain a majority-owned subsidiary company of Bidvest.
Bidvest says the restructuring will facilitate the “recycling of capital” to support the its continued growth.
The disposal of Bidvest Bank and FinGlobal will start soon, and the group’s management hopes to identify a suitable buyer by the end of the 2024 calendar year. The disposal requires regulatory approval under the Banks Act, the Companies Act, the Competition Act (under Takeover Regulations), and the Financial Sector Regulation Act.
Bidvest Bank recorded a trading profit of R234 million and an operating income of R219 million in the 2023 financial year.
“The Bidvest Bank book, which consists mainly of leased assets, loans and advances, totalled R5 billion funded by deposits of R8 billion. “Cash and investment securities amounted to R6 billion, which included restricted cash, from a group perspective, of R4 billion.”
By MoneyWeb
