[miningmx.com] — VILLAGE Main Reef said on Thursday it would pay a
special dividend of 30c per share out of the proceeds from the sale of First Uranium’s
(FUM) key assets.
The JSE-listed gold producer’s shares were up 4.57% to R1.83, following the
announcement.
Village holds notes with a face value of R392m in FUM, an amount it is likely to be
paid within the next few weeks following the sale of FUM’s Ezulwini and Mine Waste
Solutions for $335m earlier in June.
Village is also in line to receive up to R20m in shareholder distributions from FUM.
“The board reviewed a number of options, including the possibility to return cash to
our shareholders by way of a share buy-back,’ joint-CEO Marius Saaiman in a
statement. “After due consideration, the board determined that a cash dividend is
currently the best option to return excess cash to our shareholders.’
Given that Village has around one billion shares in issue, the total payout would
amount to around R300m. It is unclear at this stage what Village plans to do with
the remaining R100m-odd.
The last day to trade to be eligible for the dividend is July 13 and it is anticipated
that payment of the dividend will take place on July 23.
