[miningmx.com] – SHARES in Rockwell Diamonds gained 16% in Johannesburg after it said it had clinched a new empowerment partner which would also see its balance sheet bolstered with an upfront R17.3m investment. The share price improvement takes total gains for the 12 months to some 43%.
The new empowerment partner was not disclosed, however, owing to conditions precedent on the transaction, but Rockwell Diamonds CEO, James Campbell, said it was a firm established in the Nineties with a track record of investment in listed and unlisted companies.
In terms of the transaction, the empowerment partner will take a 30% stake in the business for R72.6m of which R17.3m would be paid upfront with the balance vendor financed. It will replace former empowerment partner, African Vanguard Resources.
