Business / Companies
Sibanye Gold makes offer to acquire Zimbabwe's Mimosa Platinum
06 Oct 2015 at 10:45hrs | Views
Sibanye Gold continues its push into the platinum market with the proposed acquisition of Aquarius Platinum.
It has made a 12.9p per share offer for Aquarius, a 60% premium to yesterday's close, which values the platinum miner at around £194 million.
It follows Sibanye buying up Anglo American's Rustenburg platinum assets in South Africa last month for up to £210 million.
Aquarius's main asset, the Kroondal joint venture with Anglo in South Africa, is near the previously bought assets.
Neal Froneman, chief executive of Sibanye, said: "For Sibanye the transaction has a strong strategic and financial rationale, both as a stand-alone transaction, but also when considered in conjunction with the recently announced acquisition of the Rustenburg PGM operations."
It will also give Sibanye a base in Zimbabwe, through Aquarius's Mimosa venture with Impala Platinum Holdings and will allow it to cut costs across its existing platinum operations, the company said.
Aquarius owns stakes in the Kroondal mine and Platinum Mile retreatment facilities near Rustenburg in South Africa and the Mimosa joint venture with Impala Platinum in Zimbabwe. The Aquarius operations are efficiently managed, mechanised and low-cost operations that will consolidate Sibanye's position in the South African PGM sector and also provide Sibanye with additional PGM operational experience. In addition, the Transaction provides an entry point into Zimbabwe, which hosts the second largest platinum reserves in the world and represents significant, low cost optionality. Aquarius is a significant primary producer of PGMs with an attributable production of 349,426 oz of 4E PGMs (including 193,422 oz of platinum) for its financial year ended 30 June 2015, attributable 4E reserves of 5.5 million oz and attributable 4E resources (inclusive of reserves) of 47.1 million oz as of 30 June 2014. Aquarius' primary assets are its stakes in the Kroondal and Mimosa mines and a retreatment facility, Platinum Mile.
Aquarius's board has unanimously recommended the offer.
Shares in Aquarius jumped 41% to 11.3p this morning on the news.
It follows Sibanye buying up Anglo American's Rustenburg platinum assets in South Africa last month for up to £210 million.
Aquarius's main asset, the Kroondal joint venture with Anglo in South Africa, is near the previously bought assets.
Neal Froneman, chief executive of Sibanye, said: "For Sibanye the transaction has a strong strategic and financial rationale, both as a stand-alone transaction, but also when considered in conjunction with the recently announced acquisition of the Rustenburg PGM operations."
It will also give Sibanye a base in Zimbabwe, through Aquarius's Mimosa venture with Impala Platinum Holdings and will allow it to cut costs across its existing platinum operations, the company said.
Aquarius owns stakes in the Kroondal mine and Platinum Mile retreatment facilities near Rustenburg in South Africa and the Mimosa joint venture with Impala Platinum in Zimbabwe. The Aquarius operations are efficiently managed, mechanised and low-cost operations that will consolidate Sibanye's position in the South African PGM sector and also provide Sibanye with additional PGM operational experience. In addition, the Transaction provides an entry point into Zimbabwe, which hosts the second largest platinum reserves in the world and represents significant, low cost optionality. Aquarius is a significant primary producer of PGMs with an attributable production of 349,426 oz of 4E PGMs (including 193,422 oz of platinum) for its financial year ended 30 June 2015, attributable 4E reserves of 5.5 million oz and attributable 4E resources (inclusive of reserves) of 47.1 million oz as of 30 June 2014. Aquarius' primary assets are its stakes in the Kroondal and Mimosa mines and a retreatment facility, Platinum Mile.
Aquarius's board has unanimously recommended the offer.
Shares in Aquarius jumped 41% to 11.3p this morning on the news.
Source - proactiveinvestors
