The JSE-listed building materials supplier, Iliad Africa Trading, has sold its Timber Wholesale business to Agentimber, a subsidiary of York Timber, another listed company, for R45.5 million ($5 million), it was announced on Monday.

In terms of the deal, York Timber would acquire operating assets of the Timber Wholesale business as a going concern.

The transaction is subject to the approval by the Competition Authorities in terms of the Competition Act, or conditional approval on terms and conditions acceptable to both parties, both companies said in a statement.

The effective date of the transaction would be made public after regulatory approval has been obtained.

It is expected that the conditions would be met before June 1 this year.

Iliad Africa focuses on sourcing, distributing, wholesaling and retailing general and specialised building materials.

The group is a participant in the R40 billion ($436 million) per annum market for distributing building materials, servicing a range of customers, from large-scale development and construction groups to do-it-yourself home owners, through 93 stores.

The group’s divisions – general building materials and specialised building materials – are headed by entrepreneurs.

In 2010, these divisions were sub-divided into Inland and Coastal, and Retail and Wholesale respectively to enhance the company’s ability to leverage common pools of expertise while enabling each division to focus on achieving its growth targets.

This structure also extends the depth of senior management and accelerates the process of succession planning.