From BDlive

South African niche spirits company TNB was last week bought for R200m by UK-based investment vehicle Vasari, which plans to grow the company’s reach throughout Africa.

Vasari’s Vivian Imerman, a South African entrepreneur living in the UK, said last week TNB would be used as a platform to launch new Vasari products as well as “to take their current product portfolio and expand their sales throughout Africa and other markets where I have contacts and opportunities”.

Gauteng-based TNB’s brands include Carvo, Kuber-Maister, Ponchos, Sour Monkey and Fruit Lagoon.

The company’s expansion would target “most of the important African economies”, Mr Imerman said.

Vasari already manufactures certain consumer goods on the continent, and Mr Imerman said it was possible that Vasari would manufacture some of TNB’s new products north of South Africa’s borders.

But TNB’s African growth is likely to face increasing competition from global spirits, wine and beer groups, including SABMiller, Heineken and Diageo.

Mr Imerman said African markets were becoming “attractive markets for the multinationals, as they are for me”.

“That’s because the markets are globalising and the opportunities for growth are there because consumers are clearly earning more disposable income.”

He said the African spirits and beer market “is experiencing good growth” — a sentiment supported by SABMiller’s strong gains from the continent in recent reporting periods.

Written by Nick Hedley | Read more at BDlive