Sale of Noah underlined HCI’s decision to sharpen its focus on its casino and gaming interests

Niche BEE stockbroking house Noah Financial Innovation has concluded a management buyout from its major shareholder HCI and is now 100% owner-managed and majority black-controlled.

HCI is in the process of focusing on its core casino and gaming business, and consequently it sold its stake in Noah to management for an undisclosed amount.

HCI gained the stake in the group after buying financial services group Mettle, which helped launch Noah six years ago as a grassroots entrepreneurial endeavour.

“We’ve always thought of ourselves as a new generation South African company; we wanted to build a business that provided a home for and helped develop a new generation of SA talent,” says Noah CEO Raymond Ndlovu.

Source: Moneyweb – Tim Cohen

“It takes talent to navigate today’s treacherous markets. We can now compete in the battle for scarce skills and talent by offering employees a piece of the Noah dream,” says Ndlovu.

Noah offers its services to the asset management industry both locally and on the larger continent. In addition to equity trading, it has a unique research model based on a network of independent research expects from across the globe archly named ARC (Associated Research Consultants).

Like its namesake, Noah sees possibility on the horizon and is particularly bullish about opportunities on the African continent. “We see enormous opportunities to service institutions on the continent in addition to the local market.”

HCI director Andre van der Veen says: “We’ve been very happy with Noah’s progress and with the return on our investment to date. The business has gone from strength to strength over the past 6 years and is well poised for a new level of growth based on a solid foundation. We’re pleased to facilitate the sale at a time when the business is on a sound footing and are confident of Noah’s success in the future.”