Business

Major car company buys 13 dealerships for R745 million from its own directors in South Africa

Malcolm Libera

 ·19 Aug 2026

Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) is set to spend R745 million to acquire 13 properties used by its dealerships from three of its executive directors and their associated family trusts.

The transaction, announced on the JSE’s SENS on 19 August 2026, involves 13 separate rental enterprises and their underlying properties.

Six are located in KwaZulu-Natal and seven in Gauteng. The properties are already leased and occupied by businesses within the CMH group, meaning the deal does not involve an expansion into new dealership locations.

Instead, CMH Management, a subsidiary of CMH, is buying the properties from executive directors BWJ Barritt, SK Jackson and JD McIntosh, together with associated family trusts.

The cash purchase price of R745 million is below the properties’ combined independent valuation of R780 million, giving CMH an effective discount of about R35 million, or 4.5%, to the assessed market value.

CMH will fund the acquisition using R395 million of its existing cash resources and a R350 million bank loan.

The company said it has maintained surplus cash above its operational requirements for several years, giving it the capacity to invest in properties without exhausting its liquidity.

The acquisition follows a R192 million share buyback completed in December 2025. The company had also accumulated substantial cash resources, with its balance sheet showing more than R1 billion in cash.

The deal is significant because CMH has historically been both an operator and tenant of its dealership properties.

At the end of February 2026, the group reported lease liabilities of R544.7 million. Bringing the properties onto its balance sheet will reduce its reliance on leases and eliminate rental payments associated with the acquired properties.

CMH said the transaction is expected to have a favourable effect on future earnings, as the rental expenses avoided are expected to outweigh the interest income forgone on the cash used in the acquisition and the financing costs associated with the new debt.

Strict conditions

However, the transaction requires additional scrutiny because the sellers include members of CMH’s executive management. Under JSE rules, the deal is classified as a Category 2 related-party transaction.

As a result, CMH must issue a detailed circular to shareholders and hold a general meeting at which independent shareholders will vote on the transaction.

The directors involved in the sale will not be permitted to vote on the resolutions relating to the deal. The transaction remains “subject to certain outstanding conditions precedent”.

This includes approval by CMH shareholders excluding the related directors, the purchaser obtaining the R350 million bank loan, and the transaction receiving unconditional approval from the Competition Authorities.

CMH was co-founded by Jebb McIntosh and Maldwyn Zimmerman, initially operating a combined Chevrolet and Datsun franchise.

The group expanded through acquisitions and mergers with independent motor dealerships before listing on the JSE Main Board in 1987. At the time, it operated 14 dealerships.

In 1999, CMH acquired the South African rights to the National and Alamo car rental brands, while its 2005 merger with Forza Group expanded its dealership footprint, including the Lyndhurst Auto BMW business in Johannesburg.

CMH also launched First Car Rental in 2008, following a restructuring of its vehicle rental operations. The group has since grown into a national motor and mobility business representing 36 vehicle brands across more than 100 dealerships.

Today, CMH generates more than R14 billion in annual revenue and operates a rental fleet of more than 9,000 vehicles. Its market capitalisation is about R2.75 billion.