Billionaire investor and current Vice President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has just cashed out of his investment in McDonalds South Africa. The company has just informed the media that Ramaphosa will no longer own the developmental license of the chain in South Africa.
Ramaphosa has apparently sold out his stake in the business to MSA Holdings, a United Arab based company.
Some months ago, he was said to have made comments suggesting that he will be reviewing his investments and business interests. The decision to sell his interest as the sole franchisee of the popular America fast food chain might be directly related to the reported statement.
McDonald’s South Africa has not released any information on the amount for the deal or when the sale will be perfected.
Serial Investor
Ramaphosa has been a seasoned investor across the length and breath of the South African economy. His inflence has also reached Nigeria through his links with MTN. He is executive chairman and founder of Shanduka Group. Shanduka Group has investments in the Resources Sector, Energy Sector, Real Estate, Banking, Insurance, and Telecoms (SEACOM).
He is also chairman of The Bidvest Group Limited, and MTN. His other non-executive directorships include Macsteel Holdings, Alexander Forbes and Standard Bank.
In March 2007 he was appointed Non-Executive joint Chairman of Mondi, a leading international paper and packaging group, when the company demerged from Anglo American plc. In July 2013 he retired from the board of SABMiller plc.
According to Forbes, Ramaphosa is worth USD675 million.
Will He Cash Out of MTN?
Cyril Ramaphosa is also a majority shareholder in MTN through his Shanduka Group. MTN is currently facing the toughest time in its 22 years of existence. The company is scrambling to raise capital via bond sales to pay its shareholders, service its Nigerian record fine.
The company also looking at floating close to 30% of its Nigerian business. This could be a golden opportunity for Ramaphosa to take some serious cash out os his investment in Africa’s largest mobile carrier.
It would be recalled that Cyril Ramaphosa was very outspoken during the period when MTN. While not sounding defensive, he cautioned that MTN must obey Nigerian laws saying: ”We would like our companies to comply with the laws and regulations of countries where they operate, without violating those”. He added that “It does seem like in the case of Nigeria, there were issues, and those issues need to be addressed
