MASTER Drilling said it had bought Atlantis Group, a South African mining contracting company, for R107.5m in a transaction that bolsters the JSE-listed group’s international presence and gives impetus to the BEE group with shares in Atlantis.
Master Drilling said the deal augmented its “… pool of skills and expertise” in India, Brazil and Zambia where both Master Drilling and Atlantis have active raise boring businesses. In South Africa, Atlantis has a mining suppliers and parts manufacturing business.
Danie Pretorius, CEO of Master Drilling, said the transaction would have a positive effect on earnings whilst also reducing the firm’s capital expenditure requirement for the year. “The acquisition of Atlantis offers us a great opportunity,” he said.
As part of the transaction, Master Drilling would support Laone Mining and Engineering which is Atlantis’s BEE partner, currently with a contract at the Cullinan diamond mine of Petra Mining. Master Drilling will provide three boring machines to Laone for that contract.
The purchase price will be settled through existing resources over the next 12 months, the company said.
