Bidvest Group’s financial services unit agreed to buy South Africa\u2019s Cannon Asset Managers to add to banking and insurance operations, its third acquisition in six months.<\/p>\n
The conglomerate will take over the Johannesburg-based money manager from Citadel Wealth Management, Bidvest said in an emailed statement on Thursday. Cannon was founded in 1998 by chief executive officer Adrian Saville and has five funds listed on its website.<\/p>\n
Bidvest didn\u2019t say how much it\u2019s paying for the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur acquisition of Cannon is a key building block in the expansion of our financial services business,\u201d Japie van Niekerk, managing director of Bidvest Financial Services and Bidvest Bank, said in the statement. \u201cWe see a good strategic fit in combining our businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deal follows Bidvest\u2019s purchases of FinGlobal, a provider of financial services to South Africans living outside the country, and First Data Holding Inc.\u2019s South African merchant services operation. The company\u2019s parent is starting a new phase of growth after spinning off its food-services unit Bid Corp last year, its largest division.<\/p>\n
Bidvest also operates car rental, office products and freight, among other services.<\/p>\n
The four Cannon funds with at least four years history all underperformed their benchmarks last year, according to the money manager\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Bidvest shares declined 1% to R206.51 in early trade in Johannesburg, valuing the company at R70 billion ($5.6 billion).<\/p>\n