RMB team honoured at the annual ANSARADA DealMakers awards

The RMB Corporate Finance team was acknowledged for their remarkable accomplishments at the ANSARADA DealMakers Annual Gala Awards, which took place on 13 February 2024, at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The awards, decided upon by an independent panel, celebrate the professionals and firms who have demonstrated excellence, innovation, and leadership in executing successful deals in the M&A and Corporate Finance industry for 2023.

RMB advised on all four transactions nominated in the Deal of the Year category and stands as the only financial adviser and independent bank that advised on any of the transactions nominated in the Private Equity Deal of the Year category. RMB was also nominated for a transaction in the BEE Deal of the Year Category and received two nominations for the Individual Dealmaker of the Year.

“Candidates for the Individual Dealmaker of the Year award are nominated by their peers in the M&A industry and from these nominees, five candidates are shortlisted. We are extremely proud to have had two shortlisted dealmakers this year in Ferdi Vorster and Gareth Armstrong, who are long-standing members of the RMB team. Congratulations to Ferdi for his outstanding achievement in winning this landmark award,” says Krishna Nagar, co-head of Corporate Finance at RMB.

“I would also like to congratulate our team for their win in the Investment Adviser segment, where we took home the award for the M&A and General Corporate Finance categories, based on the value of deals completed over the past year. Winning these awards showcases RMB’s dedication to fostering relationships and fulfilling an advisory role that goes above and beyond to deliver tailored solutions that fit with our clients’ individual needs,” Nagar adds.

The Deal of the Year award is selected based on various criteria, including the transformational aspects of the deal, the execution complexity, the deal size, and the potential value creation of the deal. RMB advised Life Healthcare on the sale of Alliance Medical Group (AMG) to iCON Infrastructure. The AMG deal was valued at c.R21bn (including debt) and will unlock significant value for shareholders, with the company set to return c.R8.4bn to shareholders by way of a special dividend. We congratulate Life Healthcare on this transformational transaction.

As one of only two shortlisted candidates for the BEE Deal of the Year, RMB is proud to be acknowledged for the role it played on the Heineken Beverages’ Bokamoso transaction. This transaction was announced in July 2023 and saw nearly 5,000 employees become the beneficiaries of a collective 6% stake in the company through an employee share ownership plan (ESOP) called the Bokamoso Workers Trust.

“We are extremely proud of the RMB Corporate Finance team for their collective effort. Each of the transactions we were fortunate to be a part of in 2023, including those nominated for and recipients of awards, has been the result of intense client focus, dedication, resilience, drive and the will to succeed, which continues to be a remarkable differentiator for us at RMB,” concludes Irshaad Paruk, co-head of Corporate Finance at RMB.