Santa Fe Group A/S has announced that it has sold its Australian business and is in the process of selling its immigration businesses. At the time of writing the sale of the Australian business was due to close at the end of December 2018, whereas the sale of the immigration business will close during Q1 2019.
The Australian Santa Fe and Wridgways business has been sold to Kobus Fourie, Managing Director for Santa Fe Australia. At the same time, Santa Fe Relocation will sign a 5-year Franchise Agreement with Kobus Fourie’s newly acquired business. The Franchise agreement is mutually exclusive, and the two companies will remain integrated through customer experience, processes and technology. Existing and new Santa Fe Relocation customers will continue to be serviced in Australia based on Santa Fe Relocation methodology and processes, and on Santa Fe Relocation’s CORE operating system. The service for domestic customers in Australia will continue unchanged. The shares were sold at the price of AUD 1 (one) in total. Any gain or loss on the sale is expected to be immaterial and will be reported as discontinued operations.
Commenting on the transaction, Santa Fe Group CEO Martin Thaysen said: “It was important for us to find a sustainable future for our Australian business, looking after both our employees and our customers. This is the ideal situation, where we get a highly capable and committed franchise partner in Australia, a future for our employees with career and growth opportunities and continued exceptional customer experience for our global Santa Fe Relocation customers. We look very much forward to the future partnership with Kobus and growing our business in Australia under new ownership.”
The immigration business is to be sold to CIBT, Inc., a leading global professional services firm specialising in immigration and visa services. The business’s assets will be acquired by CIBT for EUR 52m. The divestment is expected to result in a gain of approximately EUR 50m and net proceeds after tax of around EUR 40m.
“The sale is a win-win for Santa Fe customers and employees,” said Martin Thaysen. “This transaction gives us a significantly enhanced immigration service offering, and a strengthened capital position to continue our development as a leading global mobility company.”