In 2006, Kagiso Trust Investments bought a 20% stake in Uniprint, contributing to the print group’s ongoing corporatisation. The transaction reflected a vote of confidence by a traditional black institutional investor in a successful black-owned entrepreneurial operation. The Kagiso group was already well positioned as a long-term strategic player in the print media sector, with interests in Kagiso Media and the Bytes Technology Group (the operator of the Xerox franchise in South Africa) but this transaction demonstrated a shift in Kagiso’s investment focus away from the traditional private equity model (employed by most other BEE players) to a long-term, strategic investment model with no medium-term exit pressure in place. At the time of the transaction, Kagiso executive Afzal Patel commented that his group saw the print media sector as a major growth area and viewed Uniprint as a leader in the sector.
	The partnership with Kagiso appealed to Uniprint because it is a recognised community upliftment organisation, with broad-based beneficial ownership and Uniprint expected to enjoy the benefits of added shareholder value — through networking opportunities within the Kagiso portfolio of companies, through improved business opportunities and through the wise counsel of the Kagiso business brains trust. Kagiso is represented on the Uniprint board by Afzal Patel and Fundiswa Roji.