Johannesburg, 13 September 2006. Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Morgan Stanley have entered into an agreement to provide comprehensive international financing services jointly to South African entities.
Specifically, RMB and Morgan Stanley will work together in relation to global investment-grade and non-investment-grade bonds and securitisation offerings of local assets for their South African corporate clients. These services will complement the local financing services that RMB and Morgan Stanley already offer separately to South African entities.
The agreement provides a framework to combine Morgan Stanley’s extensive global distribution platform and global debt capital markets expertise with RMB’s pre-eminent standing in the South African corporate community.
This initiative comes shortly after the formal launch of RMB Morgan Stanley, an equity distribution, sales and trading and research joint venture between the two investment banks.
“RMB and Morgan Stanley have complementary strengths which are being combined to offer a broader, more competitive service to the South African market,” says Beth Mandel, Managing Director and Head of Morgan Stanley South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
RMB CEO Michael Pfaff says: “Morgan Stanley has the distribution channels into the global capital markets and we have strong relationships with SA corporates. Put these together and you allow SA corporates easier access to international capital markets.”
CONTACT:
Barry Martin, Rand Merchant Bank
Office: +27 11 282 8118
Mobile: +27 82 376 6921
or
Beth Mandel, Morgan Stanley
Office: +27 11 507 0800
Background notes
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm and a market leader in securities, investment management and credit services. With more than 600 offices in 30 countries, Morgan Stanley connects people, ideas and capital to help clients achieve their financial aspirations.
Morgan Stanley opened its South African office in 1994 and has consistently ranked as a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor in the annual Ernst & Young survey. In South Africa, Morgan Stanley specialises in advising on complex restructuring and cross border corporate finance transactions and on raising international capital for the sovereign and its corporate clients.
Rand Merchant Bank (RMB)
RMB is the investment banking arm of FirstRand, one of South Africa’s largest JSE-listed financial services groups, and trades off FirstRand Bank Limited’s R424 billion balance sheet. RMB has 29 years of experience in the investment industry. RMB has grown its profits from debt, equity and other related businesses in excess of 20% per annum since inception.
RMB provides specialist services and takes principal positions in the fields of Corporate Finance, Structured Finance, Project Finance, Private Equity and Trading Markets. RMB Stockbroking provides equity sales and trading services to South African and international institutions.
RMB has consistently been accorded the accolade of being the leading investment bank in its areas of activities. It was ranked first in the most recent Ernst & Young and Dealmakers Magazine league tables (value of deals advised on). It has consistently been placed in the top 3 in the Ernst & Young M&A survey over the past 7 years.
RMB has also secured first place in the 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers league tables in the categories BEE Deals, Listings, Mergers & Acquisitions, Structured & Project Finance and Private Equity.