| Good morning Voornaam,
I've decided that Wednesday public holidays are ideal. They should all be on Wednesdays. Two busy days on either side and then it's time for fun!
The fun at the moment is limited of course. The third wave is here with a vengeance and everyone knows someone who has been affected by the virus. Please, look after yourselves and treat the virus with the respect it deserves. I had it in December and it really isn't a joke.
I'll remember this week for bringing some great news about investment in South Africa despite the third wave. Mpact is in for R500m as I wrote about here and I noted that Consol is reconsidering its decision not to build a new factory for R1.5bn. There are green shoots.
Looking just beyond our borders, Imperial is seeing more than just green shoots in Africa. The logistics group is focusing on an African strategy and wants to build the "Gateway to Africa" - which sounds more like an exciting new casino project than a logistics strategy. Imperial has taken a gamble on a new acquisition but has put some serious risk mitigation strategies in place with a comprehensive earn-out structure.
After an otherwise quiet day in the market, I took the opportunity to write a detailed article about this Imperial transaction, explaining many of the terms that you'll typically see in a corporate acquisition.
This ties in with the DealMakers articles available for you this morning, which highlight recent deals in South Africa and in Africa. There's also an article by Michael Avery on the use of permanent capital vehicles by infrastructure funds.
On the ESG side, Professor Mervyn King SC (of King Code fame) has co-authored a new book and there's a launch event that InceConnect readers can attend. You'll find the link in the story below.
With that, I wish you an enjoyable and socially-distanced weekend.
The Finance Ghost
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