Key Factors
- CA&S Group acquires a 35% stake in Tradco, with an choice to extend to 55%, reinforcing its enlargement into East Africa’s fast-growing shopper sector.
- Tradco founder David Maina Kamiru retains a stake and management position, guaranteeing strategic continuity as CA&S integrates its experience in provide chain and model progress.
- CA&S experiences a 19.7% rise in headline earnings and a 9.2% income improve, pushed by acquisitions, regional enlargement, and robust provide chain operations.
CA&S Group, a dual-listed FMCG providers firm headquartered in Gauteng and led by Botswana government Duncan Lewis, has expanded its footprint in East Africa via a 35 % acquisition of Tradco Group. The transfer aligns with CA&S’s broader technique of strengthening its foothold in high-growth African markets and marks a big step in its regional enlargement efforts.
A strategic partnership for progress
The deal, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Feb. 17, 2025, underscores CA&S’s ongoing technique of buying firms with deep in-market experience, akin to Tradco Group, bolstering its presence in Africa’s dynamic shopper market.
Based in 2013, Tradco Group focuses on in-store execution, merchandising, model technique implementation, and logistics options. Its market data will strengthen CA&S’s basis in East Africa’s quickly rising shopper sector. The settlement contains an choice for CA&S to extend its stake by a further 20 %, highlighting its long-term dedication to regional market integration.
Tradco founder David Maina Kamiru will retain a stake and stay in an government position to make sure continuity in each technique and operations. “This partnership enhances our scalability and innovation. CA&S’s in depth distribution community and data-driven strategy will amplify our regional affect,” Kamiru mentioned.
CA&S’s long-term imaginative and prescient for East Africa
Duncan Lewis, CEO of CA&S Group, emphasised the significance of East Africa to the corporate’s enlargement technique. “Financial progress and infrastructure funding within the area current immense alternatives. By partnering with Tradco, we will improve our service providing, optimize provide chains, and drive model progress at scale,” he famous.
The acquisition follows CA&S’s April 1, 2024, buy of a 49 % stake in Roots Gross sales & Merchandising for R70 million($3.8 million). Roots, which providers over 8,000 shops in South Africa, enhances CA&S’s technique of buying companies with robust in-market capabilities.
Monetary progress & regional enlargement
CA&S delivered robust financial performance in the half-year of its 2024 fiscal year, with headline earnings rising by 19.7 % to R206.83 million($11.24 million), income rising by 9.2 % to R5.73 billion, and belongings increasing by 10.5 % to R5.03 billion($311.32 million). The acquisition of Tradco is predicted to additional strengthen CA&S’s presence in East Africa, enabling deeper model penetration, enhanced distribution networks, and a extra data-driven strategy to shopper engagement.
Since its itemizing on the Botswana Inventory Alternate in 2017 and subsequent JSE dual-listing in 2022, CA&S has pursued a technique of focused acquisitions, reinforcing its place as a key participant in Africa’s FMCG sector. By integrating Tradco’s native experience, CA&S goals to optimize provide chains and increase service choices, additional solidifying its aggressive edge within the area.
