RECM and Calibre Limited (“RAC”) was established in 2009 as a joint venture between Regarding Capital Management Proprietary Limited (“RECM”) (a fund manager) and Calibre Capital Proprietary Limited (a private equity firm). The listing of the non-cumulative redeemable participating preference shares (JSE share code: “RACP”) was successfully completed in June 2010. Both RECM and Calibre are controlled by the same principals, namely Theunis De Bruyn, Piet Viljoen and Jan van Niekerk.

Investment Objective

RECM and Calibre makes long term investments, with the objective of generating high real returns. This is achieved through the acquisition of assets where size, liquidity, regulations or complexity act as a deterrent to most buyers. We follow a number of strategies. We acquire minority stakes in undervalued publicly-listed companies. We partner with management teams in private businesses through acquisitions of influential ownership stakes in their respective businesses, allowing them to grow the value of the business. We can also make investments in any other assets that present an opportunity to grow that portion of our invested capital significantly ahead of inflation.

Risk Management

RECM and Calibre believe that the best way to manage risk is by investing in the “right” businesses. For an investment to be “right” for us, it needs to satisfy all of the following criteria:

  1. The target business must be of good quality;
  2. The management of the target business must engender trust with us, and vice versa;
  3. The price we pay for the business must be reasonable.

We define risk as the likelihood of losing money, and our point of departure in analyzing new opportunities is “how much can we lose?”

Investment Universe

RECM and Calibre has a very broad investment universe. We can invest in listed or unlisted businesses in any geography (onshore or offshore). We can also invest in different types of securities. We believe a broad universe is a significant competitive edge. However, we will stick to areas in which we have a high level of competence in analyzing the situation. And we prefer investing in operating business entities, rather than structures or assets.

Structure

RECM and Calibre is funded through the issue of two types of securities. The ordinary shares are unlisted, and held by the principals in the business. There are also variable rate preference shares in issue, which have been listed on the JSE Stock Exchange. The economic interests of the equity and preference shares are exactly the same, although only the ordinary shares have voting power (except in certain special situations).

Visit the RAC website for more information.