VISUAL International, a small property developer based in Stellenbosch, has jolted the local investment community with a decision to ‘acquire’ Agilitee Africa, which makes a claim at being the first electric vehicle manufacturer in Africa.
Agilitee is currently controlled by entrepreneur and investor Mandla Lamba, who is already an indirect shareholder in Visual through investment company Verityhurst.
Verityhurst, which was founded and is headed up by Lamba, recently bailed out a cash strapped Visual by subscribing for 133 million new shares to raise R5.3 million.
The acquisition of Agilitee – which could be construed as a reverse takeover as the deal will be settled by the issue of new Visual shares – is very suddenly veering away from the group’s property development core. A possible acquisition price has not yet been mooted.
Officially Visual is a property developer that acquires land, rezones the land, installs the relevant services and then constructs houses and apartments on the land for sale to homeowners or investors. According to Visual’s last annual report to end February 2021, close to 500 homes and apartments have been developed at Stellendale. But the group admitted that further development has been frustrated by the lack of funding for property development over the past few years.
During 2021 Visual recommenced with its business of property development, and its first projects were the developments of Stellendale Junction and The Marine, Strand. The group said revenue would flow from these projects from mid-2021,
The rationale, or advantages, of putting an electric vehicle manufacturer and a property developer are not clear at this early juncture.
An official statement from Visual noted Agilitee was at the forefront of the 4th industrial revolution in electric vehicles – adding that it was important to realise that green technology was the future “with the aim to change the continent to driving clean energy solutions and carbon reduction”.
Visual added that the Agilitee team was pioneering, researching, importing, assembling, manufacturing, and franchising electric vehicles technology. The Electric Vehicle solutions include battery swapping stations and solar charging facilities across Africa.
On the property side, Visual will be involved in the role out of the Agilitee franchise sites – including the acquisition and managing of properties.
The first motorbike and scooter models were launched in Cape Town in May. Agilitee plans to open another nine more flagship outlets in major cities across the country as well as smaller dealerships in towns and metros. The first four-wheeler retail outlet is planned for launch in 2023.
The three models shown in May were the Wild Grace, a café racer for the road (price tag: R175 000; the RTF (Return to Freedom) scooter (R55 000) and the LoadEX, a delivery scooter with racks for load boxes front and rear (R34 000).
According to Agilitee’s website, the assembly plant is expected to be operational in the last quarter of 2022 Initially, the components will be imported from India and assembled locally, but there are plans to convert the assembling plant into a comprehensive manufacturing plant.
CBN will watch developments closely with the allusions to a ‘local Tesla’ almost unavoidable. Of course, it’s still early days. Visual still needs to determine a valuation for Agilitee, and shareholders (as well as CBN) will also be itching to get sight of the electric vehicle manufacturer’s financial statements.
