MARA Phones South Africa has come out of business rescue following the signing of a management buyout (MBO) purchase agreement at the end of last month, the company said in a statement.
The acquisition for an undisclosed sum and terms was made possible through a strategic partnership between the MBO team and Lebashe Investment Group, a 100 percent black-owned unlisted investment holding company with assets in financial services, technology media and telecommunications.
Mara Corporation, an international multi-sector business with interests across 24 countries including 22 in Africa, launched the new smartphone factory in Durban in 2019 with a planned investment of some R1.5 billion.
But after failing to be recognised as a preferred supplier to the government of smartphones, and other commercial challenges, it emerged last year that the factory was being auctioned by Park Village Auctions, along with the contents of the factory, on a mandate from the IDC and Standard Bank.
The MBO deal sees Lebashe taking up a significant shareholding in the business, which consists of a portfolio of smartphones, tablets and other smart devices.
“Through this partnership, as the MBO team we are now able to deliver on the promise we made earlier this year to do everything in our power to save jobs, retain critical skills and keep the world-class manufacturing facilities of Mara Phones South Africa in Durban,” the MBO Team’s Sylvester Taku said.
:“It has been an arduous year working on this transaction and we persisted even when it looked like failure was the only obvious outcome because we understood that it is more than a company we were trying to rescue but also the aspirations of many Africans who will like to see a thriving smart devices manufacturing industry in South Africa and the continent.”
He said the team was moving swiftly to restart operations and retrain staff. Other areas of focus would be re-branding and marketing, creation of sustainable channels and establishing a healthy working environment that protects the dignity of employees.
“The aim is to position Africa as a world-class manufacturing hub of hi-tech products and to locally manufacture affordable, high-quality mobile smart devices,” he said.
edward.west@inl.co.za
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