COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Sibanye SA gold mines return to profit
Mining giant Sibanye-Stillwater said its gold mines in South Africa had returned to profit in the first quarter of 2023, boosted by record prices for the precious metal and an "appropriate" wage settlement with its workforce.
The company, which also operates platinum group mines in the Rustenburg area and in the US, said its SA gold mines recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of R774 million during the quarter ended March 2023. This was a swing from a R680 million loss in the same period in 2022, when the company was hit by a three-month wage strike.
Despite this, group ebitda fell almost 43% to about R7.8 billion, with the decline driven by troubles at its SA platinum group metal operations, as well as about a 19% fall in the rand price of the basket of four PGM metals (4E) it produces.
Its SA 4E production, when excluding third-party purchases of concentrate, fell 8% to 379 791 ounces, primarily due to the ongoing planned closure of a shaft at Kroondal, copper theft-related production disruptions (5 200 ounces), load curtailment (5 120 ounces) and productivity constraints in areas where operations are mining through adverse ground conditions (4 100 ounces). The group said, however, that third-party concentrate purchases more than doubled, and when including this, production was only down 4%.-Fin24
Prosus to explore sale of fintech arm PayU
Prosus is exploring potential divestments from its emerging-markets financial technology company PayU, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investment firm is working with Bank of America Corp. as it gauges interest in PayU’s business outside India, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It could fetch as much as US$800 million from the potential deal, the people said.
PayU operates in more than 50 countries across Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa, according to its website. Prosus may consider selling the operations piecemeal to different buyers while retaining its valuable Indian business, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will result in a transaction. Representatives for Prosus and Bank of America declined to comment.
Prosus is controlled by century-old South African media group Naspers, which formed the company to hold its technology investments and listed the vehicle in Amsterdam in 2019. Naspers, best known for a blockbuster bet on Tencent Holdings Ltd. in the Chinese internet startup’s early days, has been seeking ways to unlock value after that holding ballooned in worth and overshadowed other parts of its business.
The unlisted payments and fintech assets of Prosus, including PayU, are worth around US$4 billion, according to consensus estimates on its website.-Fin24
Steinhoff to sell entire stake in Mattress
Steinhoff has announced a deal to sell its entire stake in Mattress Firm to Tempur Sealy International for around US$1.215 billion in cash (R22 billion at current exchange rates) and 7.5% of the new company (valued at around R11 billion).
Steinhoff owns 50.1% of the shares of the US-based mattress retailer, with a 45% economic interest. If the deal goes ahead as planned, Steinhoff said the proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down its $10 billion debt burden.
NYSE-listed Tempur Sealy said on Tuesday it had signed a "definitive agreement" to acquire all Mattress Firm's issued shares for US$4 billion. The sale has already been approved by the boards of both companies.
"We are excited by the long-term growth prospects for our global vertically integrated company," said Tempur Sealy chair and CEO Scott Thompson.
Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm’s combined global footprint would include approximately 3 000 retail stores and 30 e-commerce platforms.
Tempur Sealy said the transaction is expected to be funded by around US$2.7 billion in cash and US$1.3 billion in stock for Mattress Firm's shareholders. Steinhoff will receive 45% of both. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.-Fin24
Mining giant Sibanye-Stillwater said its gold mines in South Africa had returned to profit in the first quarter of 2023, boosted by record prices for the precious metal and an "appropriate" wage settlement with its workforce.
The company, which also operates platinum group mines in the Rustenburg area and in the US, said its SA gold mines recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of R774 million during the quarter ended March 2023. This was a swing from a R680 million loss in the same period in 2022, when the company was hit by a three-month wage strike.
Despite this, group ebitda fell almost 43% to about R7.8 billion, with the decline driven by troubles at its SA platinum group metal operations, as well as about a 19% fall in the rand price of the basket of four PGM metals (4E) it produces.
Its SA 4E production, when excluding third-party purchases of concentrate, fell 8% to 379 791 ounces, primarily due to the ongoing planned closure of a shaft at Kroondal, copper theft-related production disruptions (5 200 ounces), load curtailment (5 120 ounces) and productivity constraints in areas where operations are mining through adverse ground conditions (4 100 ounces). The group said, however, that third-party concentrate purchases more than doubled, and when including this, production was only down 4%.-Fin24
Prosus to explore sale of fintech arm PayU
Prosus is exploring potential divestments from its emerging-markets financial technology company PayU, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investment firm is working with Bank of America Corp. as it gauges interest in PayU’s business outside India, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It could fetch as much as US$800 million from the potential deal, the people said.
PayU operates in more than 50 countries across Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa, according to its website. Prosus may consider selling the operations piecemeal to different buyers while retaining its valuable Indian business, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will result in a transaction. Representatives for Prosus and Bank of America declined to comment.
Prosus is controlled by century-old South African media group Naspers, which formed the company to hold its technology investments and listed the vehicle in Amsterdam in 2019. Naspers, best known for a blockbuster bet on Tencent Holdings Ltd. in the Chinese internet startup’s early days, has been seeking ways to unlock value after that holding ballooned in worth and overshadowed other parts of its business.
The unlisted payments and fintech assets of Prosus, including PayU, are worth around US$4 billion, according to consensus estimates on its website.-Fin24
Steinhoff to sell entire stake in Mattress
Steinhoff has announced a deal to sell its entire stake in Mattress Firm to Tempur Sealy International for around US$1.215 billion in cash (R22 billion at current exchange rates) and 7.5% of the new company (valued at around R11 billion).
Steinhoff owns 50.1% of the shares of the US-based mattress retailer, with a 45% economic interest. If the deal goes ahead as planned, Steinhoff said the proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down its $10 billion debt burden.
NYSE-listed Tempur Sealy said on Tuesday it had signed a "definitive agreement" to acquire all Mattress Firm's issued shares for US$4 billion. The sale has already been approved by the boards of both companies.
"We are excited by the long-term growth prospects for our global vertically integrated company," said Tempur Sealy chair and CEO Scott Thompson.
Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm’s combined global footprint would include approximately 3 000 retail stores and 30 e-commerce platforms.
Tempur Sealy said the transaction is expected to be funded by around US$2.7 billion in cash and US$1.3 billion in stock for Mattress Firm's shareholders. Steinhoff will receive 45% of both. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.-Fin24
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