Company news in Brief

The Cross Trainer heads for liquidation as buyers, lenders, turn their backsBusiness rescue practitioners who were appointed mid-August have confirmed there is no reasonable prospect of turning the company around. Not only did a buyer for the business fail to materialise but it has also been unable to secure post-commencement financing.After nearly three decades and a prominent national footprint that stretched across most of SA's top malls, popular athleisurewear and sneaker chain The Cross Trainer will soon be no more.Joint business rescue practitioners (BRPs) George Nell and Gideon Slabbert, who tried to save its owner Frame Leisure Trading after being appointed mid-August, have confirmed there is no reasonable prospect of turning the company around.As a result, they are applying for the liquidation of the company, which is grappling with a debt pile of more than R300 million and turnover of only about R7 million a month since business rescue.On Friday, Moneyweb broke the news of the impending liquidation of Frame Leisure, which operates the Cross Trainer, XKids, and XTrends stores.Speaking to News24 on Monday, Nell said the decision to apply for liquidation was not taken "lightly" and that in its heyday, the group had a national footprint of 180 stores and was a "household name"."It's a heavy burden on you to take a decision like this."He said the main problem was that they had been unable to secure post-commencement finance to the tune of an initial R10 million to implement its business rescue. This, said Nell, was a major reason for the demise of the business, adding that the BRPs had tried to secure the post-commencement finance from at least 14 institutions without any success.At the same time, while there had been interest from other major retailers in possibly acquiring the group, nothing had ultimately come of this, with potential buyers opting not to pursue transactions after conducting basic due diligence processes.-FIN24Sasol slumps almost 6% as coal buying surges amid mine troublesShares of chemicals and energy group Sasol slumped almost 6% on Tuesday after it said its coal purchases jumped 53% in its first quarter amid operational and quality challenges at its mines.The group, which manufactures synthetic fuel from coal using its proprietary Fischer–Tropsch process, on Tuesday reported external purchases of coal had grown to 2.9 million tonnes in the three months ended in September, compared with 1.9 million tonnes in the previous quarter.External sales of coal by Sasol into export markets also dropped 17% quarter-on-quarter.In morning trade shares of the group, valued at just under R70 billion on the JSE, had fallen 5.8% and have lost almost 58% in the past year.Saleable production of 7.5 million tonnes from Sasol's own mines was fairly flat quarter-on-quarter and is expected to again come in at between 30 million tonnes and 32 million tonnes for the full year.The group said "ongoing coal quality and operational challenges" led to higher external purchases. The mining cost per tonnes is also tracking the upper end of market guidance of R600 to R640 per tonne, Sasol said noting planned production improvements over the remained of the year will support further cost reductions.Production volumes for the current financial year are still expected to be between 7 million tonnes and 7.2 million tonnes.The group also reported a 2% fall in annualised production at its Secunda operation in its first quarter to end September, under pressure from lower equipment availability and coal quality.It did, however, keep its full-year guidance unchanged. It also kept it unchanged for its other divisions, including its Chemicals Africa business, which enjoyed an 11% rise in prices that offset a 5% fall in volumes.The business was impacted by the strengthening of the rand exchange rate, significant oil price volatility and lower refining margins, Sasol said. Global chemical markets remain oversupplied, with higher input costs and weak chemical prices and demand hitting its margins."Self-help measures continue to be implemented across the business," it added.-FIN24 Nigeria halts Shell asset sale, approves Exxon-Seplat dealNigeria has blocked Shell's sale of its entire onshore and shallow-water oil operations, but approved a similar deal by Exxon Mobil, the country's upstream oil regulator said on Monday.Shell's asset sale for up to $2.4 billion to Renaissance consortium, comprising five companies, was first announced in January. Exxon's deal with Seplat Energy has awaited regulatory approval for more than two years since a $1.28 billion fee was announced in February 2022.In a speech at an event in the capital Abuja, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) CEO Gbenga Komolafe said the Shell deal "could not scale (the) regulatory test," but did not elaborate. Exxon's transaction was granted ministerial approval.President Bola Tinubu had signalled on Oct. 1 that the Exxon-Seplat deal would receive ministerial approval in a matter of days after getting clearance from the regulator."We welcome the regulator’s announcement and look forward to formally receiving the ministerial consent as we work toward the conclusion of the sale," Exxon said in a statement.A Shell spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The rejection is a blow to Shell's strategy to pivot toward deepwater for future investments and reflects the growing challenges that oil companies face in Nigeria.Oil majors operating in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter, have been retreating from onshore operations hampered by theft and sabotage, opting to focus future investments on newer and more lucrative deep offshore fields.The Shell assets hold a combined estimated volume of 6.73 billion barrels of oil and condensate and 56.27 trillion cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas.Under Exxon's deal, Seplat will own 40% of four oil mining leases and associated infrastructure, including the Qua Iboe export terminal, and 51% of the Bonny River natural gas liquids recovery plant previously owned by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Exxon's local unit.In trying to exit the oil-rich Niger Delta, Shell follows Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab and Eni (ENI.MI), opens new tab who wanted to do so due to security concerns.NUPRC approved the sale of onshore assets by Eni's local unit to Oando in July and another from Equinor (EQNR.OL), opens new tab to new entrant Project Odinmim.Environmental activists and some communities opposed the Shell-Renaissance deal, tying Shell to a string of lawsuits for environmental restoration and compensation for land and rivers damaged by oil spills.In April, NUPRC started evaluating Shell's divestment to the consortium, which comprises four Nigerian exploration and production companies and an international energy group.

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