Macquarie Equities South Africa partners with local South African consortium to create majority black-owned equities brokerage

Macquarie Group (“Macquarie”) (ASX: MQG; ADR: MQBKY) today announced that its South African cash equities business has entered into a sale of shares agreement to become a majority black-owned enterprise. Together with a group of local partners, the new enterprise will be uniquely positioned to provide South African institutional investors with access to a leading black-owned equities brokerage business with strong execution capabilities and highly rated research.

As part of the agreement, Macquarie will retain a 49 per cent ownership, with the remaining 51 per cent to be owned by a local South African consortium comprising Mazi Capital, AWCA Investment Holdings, AMB Holdings, as well as some senior management and a BEE senior staff trust.

Paul Plewman, Head of Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “Our new partnership is an important development in our strategy of becoming the market-leading black-owned equities brokerage business in South Africa. We are delighted to partner with consortium members who share our vision and are highly regarded for their strong Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) credentials.”

Malungelo Zilimbola, Mazi Founder and Chief Investment Officer, commented on behalf of the consortium: “We are passionate about showcasing black talent, training young professionals and achieving gender balance in the financial services industry. We are excited to be partnering with such a strong international equities research and brokerage platform as this will go a long way in providing scale in our training and skills development endeavours”.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and following a transition period, the new enterprise is expected to commence operations in the second quarter of 2018.

About Mazi Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Mazi was founded in 2006 and is a predominantly black-owned and an owner managed investment manager. The firm manages ZAR47 billion of assets on behalf of institutional funds, hedge funds and unit trusts. Mazi seeks to build a diversified financial services group and play a critical role in the transformation of the sector and the economy. For more information, visit www.mazi.co.za.

About AWCA Investment Holdings

AWCA Investment Holdings Limited (AIH) manages a diversified investment portfolio which participates in long-term investment opportunities across various economic sectors in South Africa. AIH is an investment company, 100% owned by black women. For more information, visit www.awcainvest.co.za.

About AMB Holdings

AMB Holdings is an independent financial services group specialising in principal equity investing, global financial markets trading and advisory services. Founded in 1995, AMB Holdings is one of the pioneers of black economic empowerment in South Africa with a long and distinguished track record of providing innovative financial solutions to emerging and established corporates and institutions. For more information, visit www.amb.co.za.