THE BIDVEST GROUP LIMITED JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Bidvest (>> Bidvest Group Ltd) will acquire management services group Noonan for approximately 2.7 billion rand ($208 million) as the trading, services and distribution company looks to grow internationally.
Bidvest, which spun off food service division Bidcorp (>> Bid Corporation Ltd) in a $5 billion listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange last year, said on Monday it would Noonan from Alchemy Partners.
"Following the unbundling of our food services business last year, we have said that we intend pursuing a strategy of acquisitions that will provide geographic diversification for certain of our core businesses," Chief Executive Lindsay Ralphs said in a statement.
Ralphs said Noonan's business model was complementary and would help improve its services, increase its client base, and support international growth through further acquisitions.
In February, Ralphs told reporters on a conference call that Bidvest would be able to raise $1 billion should it need it and that the firm has identified acquisition targets outside of South Africa.
For the Noonan deal, three-year, variable rate, euro-denominated funding has been secured at an attractive rate, it said.
Noonan is based in Ireland and also operates in the United Kingdom, from where 40 percent of its revenue is derived, it said.
The effective date of the transaction is expected to be August. 31, assuming South African Reserve Bank approval.
($1 = 12.9926 rand)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Jason Neely)
