Renaissance Capital launches South Africa operations, hires Clifford Sacks

Posted by Staff Writer on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 6:31pm.

Renaissance Capital, the emerging markets investment bank, announces today that Clifford Sacks will join as CEO South Africa and Head of Pan-African Equities and will lead the Firm’s expansion into the continent’s largest economy. Sacks joins from Merrill Lynch, where he was Co-CEO South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The South Africa operation will act as a conduit for South African companies to invest in the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, where Renaissance Capital has a unique franchise spanning the region including full-fledged offices in five countries. The South African operation will focus primarily on four sectors: metals & mining, oil & gas, financials and telecommunications.

“Our goal is not to be all things to all people. The focus on these four industries builds on our existing emerging markets platform in these sectors across research, sales and trading, capital markets and M&A. They are also where we see the strongest demand from clients,” said Andy Lowe, Renaissance Capital CEO Africa. “With the addition of a South Africa operation, we now have an unrivaled pan-African investment banking franchise.”

“In Cliff, we have one of South Africa’s most respected investment bankers with deep corporate relationships and unrivaled specialist knowledge of African equities,” said Nick Andrews, Global Head of Equities.

Clifford Sacks joined Merrill Lynch in 1998. In 2006 he was named Co-CEO of the firm’s Africa operations, responsible for the firm’s Markets business across all products and geographies. Prior to joining Merrill, Sacks established the South African sales and trading desk for UBS Warburg in New York. He started his career in 1990 in the Treasury of the Anglo-American Corporation. Sacks is a graduate of the University of The Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. His appointment with Renaissance Capital is effective March 1, 2010.

Renaissance Capital entered Africa in 2007, and today maintains offices in Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Ghana. Last year Renaissance Capital was one of the most active dealmakers on the continent, executing 18 transactions in 10 countries including the $955 million sale of Central African Mining and Exploration Co. (CAMEC) and equity offerings for Sierra Leone’s African Minerals and Cameroon’s Sundance Resources. Earlier this month, the firm hired Ali Khalpey as Managing Director and Head of African Sales.