SOUTH Africa’s state-owned development finance institution, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has received a cash-backed offer for a portion of its shares in Foskor.
TP Nchocho, CEO of the IDC told BusinessLive that the bidder was an international company. Nchocho told a press conference at the institution’s annual results presentation earlier this week that a bidder had “put in a firm offer on the table”
“The board has given us a mandate to agree and seek final terms,” he added.
The IDC, which owns 59% of Foskor’s ordinary shares, invited potential buyers in October 2020 to submit expressions of interest for the struggling phosphate manufacturer, said BusinessLive in its report. Nchocho indicated at that time, that the IDC wanted to retain a stake in the business, which it considers a strategic asset to South Africa.
“We want to sell a significant [position] but not exit entirely,” Nchocho told BusinessLive.
The remaining 15% non-controlling interest in Foskor is owned by Coromandel International (14%), and Sun International of India (1%), said BusinessLive citing Foskor’s website. Coromandel International is an Indian fertiliser and pesticide producer. Little public information is available on Sun International of India, said BusinessLive.
Foskor was founded in 1951 with a £1m loan from the IDC to produce phosphates for South Africa’s agriculture sector. Its core operations include opencast mines in Phalaborwa in Limpopo, which produce phosphate rock.
