Billionaire private investor, Rob Hersov, revealed that he will be approaching the Department of Public Enterprises with a R2 billion bid to buy six of South Africa’s airports.
In an interview with Business Report on Saturday 10 September, Hersov said that his company, RSA.aero, would bid for South Africa’s regional airports.
These regional airports are George, Gqeberha, East London, Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Upington, adding to the Cape Winelands Airport RSA.aero already owns.
A number of prospective investors have expressed interest in buying a stake in Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), according to Fin24, but the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, announced that Acsa is not for sale. Acsa owns and operates South Africa’s nine principal airports, including three major international airports; OR Tambo, Cape Town and King Shaka.
‘ACSA is not only a strategic national asset with an important role to play in South Africa’s economic reconstruction and recovery but also in enabling the growth of the aviation sector in Africa,’ Mbalula said in a statement on Friday. ‘It is on this basis that the government has no intention to divest the equity it holds in ACSA, in favour of private shareholding in the foreseeable future.’
In response to Minister Mbalula’s statement, Hersov commented that if the government really believed they were strategic assets, they should sell them ‘as quickly as possible’.
Hersov believes that the country’s smaller regional hubs can be turned into successful money-making enterprises, and he sees an opportunity to save these assets with his team of comprised individuals with the necessary capital, skills and expertise.
‘We are going to make an unsolicited bid, a formal one to the minister [of Public Enterprises], to Pravin Gordhan,’ Hersov said. ‘We are interested in buying only the six regional airports of Acsa and we will pay R2 billion for them, and also invest a significant amount going forward in upgrading and improving them.’
Picture: Getaway Gallery
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