DealMakers SA 2021 Awards | Nominees – DealMaker of the Year
The Ansarada DealMakers Annual Awards. This is the 14th year in which such an award is to be made. Candidates are nominated by their peers in the M&A industry. From these nominations a shortlist of four candidates has been chosen by the Independent Selection Panel.
They are (in no particular order):
Ferdi Vorster (Rand Merchant Bank)
A member of the Rand Merchant Bank team since 2007, Ferdi’s strong technical skill and his ability to develop deep and enduring client relationships earned him a place on the nominee shortlist in 2013. He led several market-leading transactions during 2021, most notably acting for Distell, originating, planning and executing the proposed multi-jurisdictional deal with Heineken International, a deal shortlisted for the 2021 Brunswick Deal of the Year. In addition, Ferdi led the execution of the acquisition by Karooooo of locally listed Cartrack and worked on the sale of its 68.3% stake in Tanzanian listed Tanga Cement by AfriSam to German multinational HeidelbergCement.
Jesse Watson (Webber Wentzel)
This is the third time Jesse has been shortlisted for the Ince DealMaker of the Year award, previously in 2018 and 2019. His unwavering vision, consistency, leadership and overall contributions to the majority of the high complex and high-profile deals has earned him wide recognition. Jesse, a partner in the Corporate Practice at Webber Wentzel, was the matter lead in the Prosus/Naspers voluntary share exchange offer which has made the shortlist as nominee for the 2021 Brunswick Deal of the Year. The transaction, which spanned nearly two years, involved providing strategic advice in relation to the deal structure while managing specialist teams and leading regulatory and other stakeholder interactions.
Lydia Shadrach – Razzino (ENSafrica)
This is the second consecutive year Lydia has been shortlisted for the Ince DealMaker of the Year Award. An executive in ENSafrica’s Corporate Commercial department, Lydia heads up the firm’s Private Equity team and co-leads one of the largest teams in the Corporate Commercial department. Her approach is highly client centric which results in arriving at sustainable, innovative and effective solutions for them. Lydia worked on a number of high-profile transactions announced in 2021. She led the team in the negotiations and represented Vodacom in the R41 billion Vodafone Egypt deal, shortlisted for the Brunswick Deal of the Year and on the sale of Ascendis Animal Health to Acorn Agri & Food, shortlisted for the Catalyst Private Equity Deal of the Year.
David Tudor (Naspers/Prosus Group)
David was nominated for the Ince DealMaker of the Year award as he has, as in house counsel, led the many complex multi-jurisdictional transactions that have been such an integral part of positioning the Naspers/Prosus companies as the giants that they are today. In 2008 he was appointed as Naspers and MIH Group Senior Counsel. In this role he led the legal teams for the group’s M&A activities in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. David went on to become General Counsel of the Allegro Group (a subsidiary of MIH) and was subsequently promoted to the position of General Counsel: Global Transaction eCommerce at Naspers.
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