IMPALA Platinum (Implats) had nudged up its stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) to 36.41% after acquiring 0.75% of RBPlat shares, the company said in an announcement to the JSE.
This is in terms of its mandatory offer for shares in RBPlat that the company doesn’t already own. The mandatory offer closes on June 17.
In terms of its offer, Implats is offering R90 per share in cash as well as 0.3 Impala shares per RBPlat share.
The company said on March 10 that it would not adjust its offer after RBPlat announced a R5,35/share final dividend for its 2021 financial year.
“Should RBPlat declare a further dividend or make any other distribution to RBPlat shareholders prior to the settlement date, Implats reserves the right to adjust the offer consideration on the basis set out in the circular,” the company added.
A major shareholder that is yet to decide on selling its shares to Implats is the government-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC). It owned a 10% stake in RBPlat prior to selling about 1% to 2% to Implats in December.
RBPlat’s other important shareholder is Northam Platinum which has built a 34.9% stake in the company with options to take its stake higher.
Northam’s intentions for RBPlat’s drew the ire of Steve Phiri, outgoing CEO of RBPlat who said “… any person who is contemplating some offer must put up or shut up … The shareholders of RBPlat deserve some respect and certainty”.
