Company news in brief

Multichoice sweetens Naspers split with dividend planAfrica's biggest pay-TV business, Multichoice, plans to pay a R2.5 billion dividend two years after leaving its parent of three decades - media and e-commerce group Naspers – and pursuing a listing solo in South Africa.Multichoice chief financial officer Tim Jacobs said on Monday the firm would make its first payment to shareholders in 2020, after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) approved Naspers' plan to spin-off and list the pay-TV company.Going it alone will see Multichoice spend its healthy subscriber revenue on further growth and fending off stiff competition from streaming giants like Netflix.For Naspers the listing of Multichoice, expected on 27 February, will mark the completion of its first major effort towards narrowing a discount between its market value and the value of its stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent.Naspers owns a 31.1% stake in Tencent, worth around US$128 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Naspers itself is worth just over US$100 billion - around 22% less - and some investors have urged Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk to close the gap. – Nampa/ReutersTotal to go ahead with Ikike oil project in NigeriaFrench oil group Total will approve plans to proceed with the Ikike project in Nigeria in the coming months, and also aims to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the country, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Monday.Total is one of the strongest players in the African oil sector, holding more proven reserves on the continent than any of the other top global oil companies.The 60 000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Ikike project is one of several projects the group has earmarked in Nigeria for a final investment decision, including the 70 000 bpd deepwater Preowei project, which would help Total increase its oil production.This month, Total started production at the Egina oilfield off the coast of Nigeria. Total also planned to expand its Nigerian LNG project this year.Total called on Nigeria to issue new exploration licences, saying the country's oil and gas sector had been dormant in recent years in terms of exploration and new projects due to uncertainties and the ongoing discussions over Nigeria's oil industry regulation. – Nampa/ReutersBarrick explores options for Zambian copper mineBarrick Gold Corp said on Monday that it was considering all options for Lumwana copper mine in Zambia as the country's proposed new mining taxes would make it challenging to generate adequate returns for all its stakeholders.Barrick, which recently completed US$6 billion deal to buy rival Randgold, said it is continuing to engage with the Zambian government to find a mutually beneficial solution for the operation of the mine in the wake of the new tax changes."Given the challenging conditions the mine was facing, all options would have to be considered," the company said in a statement.But Barrick said the media reports about the sale of the business were untrue.Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer, increased its sliding scale for royalties of 4 to 6% by 1.5 percentage points from Jan. 1 and introduced a new 10% tax when the price of copper exceeds US$7 500 per tonne. – Nampa/Reuters Gatwick drone disruption cost easyJet nearly US$20mEasyJet lost 15 million pounds (US$19 million) during 36 hours of travel chaos sparked by drones flying into London's Gatwick Airport in December, the budget airline said yesterday, adding it should serve as a "wake-up call" to airports.The British carrier, the largest operator at Britain's second-biggest airport, said the disruption affected 82 000 customers and forced the cancellation of more than 400 of its flights in the run up to Christmas.That knocked around 5 million pounds off its revenue and cost the airline 10 million pounds to help its customers."We were disappointed that it took a long time to resolve," CEI Johan Lundgren told reporters."Airports have gotten this as a wake-up call, and will be better prepared going forward." – Nampa/Reuters LSE eyes bid for Oslo BorsThe operator of the London stock exchange (LSE) is reportedly interested in bidding for Norway's Oslo Bors which, if correct, could trigger a bidding war for the Norwegian exchange, already the subject of a bid by Euronext.The LSE has enlisted an unidentified bank to consider how a deal for Oslo Bors could be put together, an anonymous source close to the company was quoted as saying by the London-based Evening Standard newspaper on Monday.Oslo Bors and the LSE declined to comment on the report.Euronext, operator of bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Dublin, has offered to buy Oslo Bors for 625 million euros (US$720 million) and secured the backing of a majority of shareholders in December.But holding company Oslo Bors VPS took issue with how Euronext made its approach and is conducting its own process. It said on Jan. 11 it had received interest from other parties. – Nampa/Reuters

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