Lonmin Investors Back Sibanye Deal to Create a Platinum Giant
Lonmin Investors Back Sibanye Deal to Create a Platinum Giant
(Bloomberg) -- Lonmin Plc investors backed the platinum producer’s takeover by Sibanye Gold Ltd., bringing to an end a company that was once part of a business empire synonymous with British capitalism in Africa.
Sibanye’s all-share takeover was backed by 99% of votes cast at a meeting in London, passing the required threshold of 75%. The vote is a triumph for Sibanye Chief Executive Officer Neal Froneman, a prolific deal-maker who faced investor concerns that his offer undervalues Lonmin’s assets. Sibanye shareholders approved the deal earlier in the day.
Froneman, who had already seen off a challenge to the deal from Lonmin’s biggest labor union, will gain access to his rival’s processing facilities and some of the lowest-cost shafts in the industry. The combined entity will challenge Anglo American Plc’s platinum business as the world’s biggest primary producer of the metal.
Sibanye shares rose 9.7% by 4:57 p.m. in Johannesburg on Tuesday and Lonmin was 9.6% higher in London.
Lonmin agreed to an offer from Sibanye after struggling through years of losses and being forced to seek debt-covenant waivers from lenders. CEO Ben Magara backed the deal, saying that on its own Lonmin lacked the capital to invest in its operations. Lonmin has raised a total of $1.68 billion in three rights issues since 2009.
SBG Securities Ltd., a unit of Standard Bank Group Ltd., said the transaction undervalued Lonmin’s assets by as much as $460 million.
Sibanye’s takeover draws the curtain on a company founded in 1909 to acquire mining rights in then Northern and Southern Rhodesia, now Zambia and Zimbabwe, to become one of Britain’s most prominent companies of the 20th century. Lonmin reconfigured from its predecessor Lonrho Plc in the 1990s to focus on platinum mining.
Still, there was some disquiet from the few shareholders who attended Tuesday’s meeting, held in a mostly empty meeting room, just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace. The chairman faced pointed questions on the performance of the company over the years, its repeated cash calls, board remuneration and the banking and legal fees for the deal.
| To Read More on Sibanye’s Lonmin Takeover Offer |
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| Biggest Africa Investor Goes to London for Lonmin Decision |
| Key Lonmin Investor Said to Be Concerned by Sibanye Offer |
| Sibanye Agrees to Raise Offer for Lonmin on Metal Price Gain |
To contact the reporters on this story: Felix Njini in Johannesburg at fnjini@bloomberg.net;Thomas Biesheuvel in London at tbiesheuvel@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Dylan Griffiths, Liezel Hill
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