Sasol Brushes Aside Talk of Asset Sale to Energy Fund
Sasol Brushes Aside Talk of Asset Sale to Energy Fund
South African fuel and chemicals manufacturer Sasol Ltd. said it has no plans to sell its retail outlets, countering reports that the state-owned Central Energy Fund is in talks about acquiring the assets.
“We never had any discussions” with the fund about an asset sale involving the company’s retail gas stations, Sasol Chief Financial Officer Paul Victor said Tuesday in an interview. If anything, the company is looking to expand that segment of the business, he said.
Sasol needs to cut debt and is trying to raise capital through asset sales to offset the collapse in oil prices earlier this year. The company has said it may consider a $2 billion rights offer.
“The expanded asset disposal process has yielded good interest in relation to a number of assets, despite the macro environment uncertainty,” the company said in a separate statement Tuesday.
The CEF, which manages the South African government’s energy assets, said Tuesday that while Chairman Monde Mnyande had previously said the fund might consider buying Sasol assets, “at no stage” did the CEF announce it’s negotiating to buy the company’s retail outlets.
Johannesburg-based newspaper Business Day reported earlier that Sasol was in talks with the CEF over the potential sale of its fuel stations.
Mnyande told lawmakers May 12 that the company “needs to put an end to the losses” at units including state oil company PetroSA. “We are looking at those and discussing very strongly with Sasol” what assets can be acquired, he said.
Victor said no discussions took place with the fund about Sasol’s outlets and described any such claims as “nonsense.” Sasol has 410 retail convenience centers, which account for 11% of the regulated market, according to the company.
It’s focusing on improving margins by looking for higher value markets for existing production of fuels. “This means both organic retail growth, by increasing our retail site development and conversion of sites to the Sasol brand, and possible small scale acquisitions,” the company said.
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