Ethos invests R1.6bn

Ethos Private Equity buys a 65 percent stake in South African equipment rental and sales company Eazi Group for R1.6 billion.

Johannesburg - Ethos Private Equity bought a 65 percent stake in South African equipment rental and sales company Eazi Group for R1.6 billion ($97 million) in the fifth private-equity investment by its Ethos Fund VI in the past year.

At the Eazi Group “entrepreneurs identified a void in the market and through grit and determination established a new industry,” Shaun Zagnoev, a partner at Ethos, said in an e- mailed statement on Monday.

The Eazi Group started in 2003 and specialises in the sales, rental and servicing of so-called work-at-height industrial equipment, used to lift workers to perform tasks such as installing lighting and fixing overhead cabling. It has branches in most South African provinces and in neighbouring Namibia.

Ethos’s previous investments through Fund VI include stakes in South African logistics supplier RTT Group, clothing retailer Kevro, industrial-services group Waco International, automotive-parts retailer AutoZone, and telecommunications company Eaton Towers.

“Ethos expressed interest in our business over many years, during which time we developed a trusted relationship,” Brett Fleming, chief executive officer of the Eazi Group, said in the same statement. Ethos is the “ideal partner” to help Eazi Group grow further, he said.

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