A BBBEE transaction was concluded last month and Dimension Data has achieved a 51% black ownership recognition status.
This has significantly improved their BBBEE score from a level 4 to a level 2 for 2019.
In April this year Dimension Data reported that their parent company NTT Holdings were evaluating opportunities to conclude an equity transaction to bolster its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating for Dimension Data in South Africa.
Grant Bodley, CEO Dimension Data, says: “Dimension Data and NTT are committed to furthering our transformation journey and the pursuit of a sustainable South Africa. This is a significant accomplishment and we are extremely proud of our level 2 BBBEE rating. We look forward to growing our business further in South Africa.”
Dimension Data’s BBBEE transaction is two-fold:
* The sale of The Campus – this Bryanston based office park built specifically for Dimension Data which has been its home since 2003 and owned by the company since 2006, has been sold to a black women-owned company which is part of the recently established Identity Property Fund (managed by Identity Fund Managers, a division of Identity Partners). The sale of The Campus is part of a wider restructuring exercise to enable the company to focus on its core business. Dimension Data currently occupies less than 50% of The Campus.
* A 15% equity transaction through an Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP).
Dimension Data will continue to occupy The Campus, which remains its head office.
Historically Dimension Data has had two successful BBBEE schemes.
The first scheme came into effect in 2004 and vested in 2012 benefitting thousands of employees and broad-based groups and transferring a total of R1,26-billion to its beneficiaries.
This was immediately followed by an ESOP scheme, which was concluded in 2017 and has been unwound and its beneficiaries were paid out at the end of August this year.
Together with this new BBBEE transaction, Dimension Data has restructured its operating model driven by a new go-to-market strategy, which is well positioned for the future needs of its clients. The company aims to provide a combined value proposition that enables data driven decisions, provides digital customer experiences, creates connected workplaces for their employees, and provides software-defined infrastructure.