SAB

"Even before concluding the deal with SAB in 1969, Sol had identified Plettenberg Bay as a potential jewel on the future tourist map of South Africa. The first time he set eyes on it, Plett was a tiny village near the Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) end of the Garden Route, which runs primarily from George to Storms River. The village comprised a short main street with a tiny stone church, elevated above two spectacular ocean bays on the southern side. A mountain range to the north curved around the sides of the village until it touched the sea. Cradled by the mountains, this little gem overlooked an ocean replete with whales, dolphins and other exquisite marine life. A small peninsula divided the two bays at the point where the Piesang River trickled – and sometimes gushed – into the sea."

"In the late 1960s, Sol approached Ted Sceales, then the chairman of SAB, with a proposal to build and operate a chain of resort properties in South Africa, aimed at both domestic and foreign tourists. The proposal went way beyond SAB’s modest plan to build motels for travelling salesmen. Sol’s proposal was straightforward. He would contribute his controlling interest in The Beverly Hills and a 50-year land lease that he had recently acquired on Durban’s Marine Parade, while SAB would fund the construction of resort hotels in Durban (on Sol’s land and on other sites), in the Eastern Transvaal (near the Kruger National Park), in Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route, and at other sites still to be agreed. Financially, Sol’s proposal was simple: SAB would put up the money, he would do the work and they would split the ownership 50/50."

"The two sides clearly had different views regarding their new arrangement. To SAB, Sol’s new Southern Sun was a subsidiary of their huge company. To Sol, SAB was his banker, not his boss. However, to protect their position, SAB insisted on planting two of their men in Southern Sun’s management company – one at a very senior level and the other in administration. Gordon Hood, a long-time SAB employee, was duly installed in Southern Sun, effectively as Sol’s “number two”."

"The attraction between Sol and SAB was too strong for them not to work out a deal, and it was finally agreed that SAB would fund his resort chain. Provided he continued to match their investment with 10% of his own, he could also maintain 10% ownership in all the properties. He would, however, be given a management contract for their operation, which he would own outright."

"As the days passed, Sol never left the house. Others rallied around with support. Everyone preached the same message, that it was not Sol’s fault, but not all of them believed what they were saying. There was no denying that Sol had been an absent husband, but he now needed practical help. Sol told me that he intended to resign to concentrate on the children, but then Colin Hall from SAB located a prospective nanny in then-Rhodesia of whom he had heard good things. She seemed to be an ideal prospect."

"We held a beauty contest with a few investment banks, hired Merrill Lynch and sent out a prospectus to interested buyers in autumn 2001. SAB, Interbrew and Heineken all submitted final bids, but all were lower than what I had been hoping for. I had set the bar high. I didn’t want to sell – but I was having mixed feelings. Heineken was the strongest contender, so we flew to London on 2 January 2002 to meet them and see if they wanted to do a deal. We were told that Freddy Heineken, the legendary former chairman and chief executive and owner of a controlling 50 per cent interest in the family beer company, was very much behind getting involved in Russia but had demanding criteria. We arrived in London and checked into a hotel. On our way to meet Heineken the following day, I spied a *Financial Times* front page reporting that Freddy had died the previous night. I took the lead in the meeting and I guess I put on a good show, as we still did the deal, selling to Heineken for $400 million, including a $50 million earn-out if we met certain targets. The date was 20 February 2002. As part of the deal, Heineken asked me to stay on as chairman for two years. A lot of capacity came on stream in the Russian beer market in 2002 and we did not hit the target. I still made $100 million from the Heineken deal, more than I had ever made or even had before. And Capital, which had been so close to backing out, tripled its investment."