Bloomberg reports that Lonmin investors have backed the platinum producer’s takeover by Sibanye Gold, bringing to an end a company that was once part of a business empire synonymous with British capitalism in Africa.
Based on provisional results, Sibanye’s all-share takeover was backed by 98.87% of votes cast at a meeting on Tuesday in London, passing the required threshold of 75%. The vote is a triumph for Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman, a prolific deal-maker who faced investor concerns that his offer undervalued Lonmin’s assets. Sibanye investors approved the deal earlier in the day. Froneman, who had already seen off a challenge to the deal from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which is Lonmin’s biggest trade 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 Platinum as the world’s biggest primary producer of the metal. Lonmin CEO himself Ben Magara backed the deal, saying that on its own Lonmin lacked the capital to invest in its operations.
- Read the full original of the report on the deal by Felix Njini and Thomas Biesheuvel at Fin24
- Read too, Sibanye shareholders vote overwhelmingly for Lonmin deal, at BusinessLive
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