Spirit Capital has sold its majority stake in Tidy Files, a provider of end-to-end document management and storage solutions in Southern Africa, for R75m to Metrofile Holdings Ltd. 

The Competition Commission approval has been granted for the 100% acquisition by Metrofile. 

Initially announced in June 2017 subject to approval, Metrofile said the acquisition has been funded with cash resources and is official as of August 1, 2017.

Tidy Files manufactures and distributes filing systems, office furniture and stationery consumables to corporate and wholesale markets in Southern Africa.

Metrofile will use its own cash resources for the acquisition.

Pfungwa Serima, Group CEO, Metrofile Holdings, said that the acquisition is aligned with the company’s strategic growth objective: “Through the acquisition of Tidy Files, Metrofile can complement and expand its client service offering across Africa and the Middle East, providing an even more complete range of filing and archiving solutions across all industries.”

Spirit Capital’s initial interest in Tidy Files was acquired in 2007 through its purchase of a minority interest in Innfile Holdings (Pty) Ltd. 

The recent acquisition of a 100% interest in Innfile Holdings (Pty) Ltd resulted in Spirit Capital acquiring effective control over Tidy Files and also the exit of its minority investment in On Demand SA (Pty) Ltd. 

Gavin Leonard, CEO, Tidy Files, said that the timing was right for the Metrofile acquisition: “We have grown the business into a recognised leader with the support and backing of private equity firm Spirit Capital for the last ten years. Time to expand and launch a new growth trajectory was imminent, so the Metrofile acquisition was positively received and is an exciting new period for the company.”

“We are looking forward to expanding beyond the South African borders as well as taking advantage of the numerous leads into the local enterprise sector thanks to the network within Metrofile,” he added.