Old Mutual making progress on empowerment suitor
November 18, 2004
By Sherilee Bridge
Johannesburg/London - South Africa's largest insurer, Old Mutual, said yesterday
it was "looking for a degree of consistency" between the black economic empowerm
ent (BEE) deal it strikes at a holding company level, as well as its short-term i
nsurance subsidiary Mutual & Federal (M&F) and banking group Nedcor.
Old Mutual owns 88.1 percent of M&F and 53 percent of Nedcor.
Julian Roberts, group finance director at Old Mutual, told analysts via a confer
ence call that the complexity of pulling the BEE deal together meant that it now
expected to make a "detailed announcement" on its ownership plans next year.
Roberts said the group had been "a bit optimistic" when it told the market that
it would do a deal by Christmas.
Updating the market on the performance of its business for the nine months to en
d September, the group said in a trading statement that it was "seeking broad-bas
ed black economic empowerment ownership deals for Old Mutual (South Africa), M&F
and Nedcor".
It said it wanted the BEE deal to "help to build each business" and "include sta
ff participation" and "create value for all stakeholders over the long term". "We
are making progress in our discussions with a number of potential BEE partners,"
the group said.
