The UB transaction

The Ubuntu-Botho transaction was structured in such a way that it would extend Sanlam shareholding to grassroots level through the Ubuntu-Botho consortium. Patrice Motsepe personally put up the more than R60 million required to acquire and distribute Sanlam shares to shareholders.

This share distribution gives stakeholders a direct share in Sanlam – and thus a vested interest in seeing a healthy share price sustained through helping Sanlam gain access and grow market share in areas previously closed to it.

The consortium has three anchor shareholders:

• Sizanani-Thusanang Helpmekaar under Patrice Motsepe (55%)
• Sanlam/Ubuntu-Botho Community Development Trust (20%), and
• the Broad-based Empowerment Groupings (25%)

The latter again is made up of nine provincial companies, each with at least 70 shareholders, a nationwide company of women who own and run small and micro enterprises, as well as three trusts and two union investment companies, SIHOLD and NIC.

A provincial advisory board resides to enable cross-selling between shareholder businesses, thus helping to grow shareholders from micro to medium-sized and bigger businesses.