Company news in brief

Eskom hit by heavy rains

South Africa's debt-laden state power company Eskom on Monday announced it was implementing a more intense electricity rationing schedule, five days after continued rolling power cuts have plunged businesses, schools and homes into darkness.

To date, load shedding had been implemented only up to what is known as stage 4.

But on Monday Eskom announced it had moved to stage 6 load shedding, which requires 6000MW to be rotationally load shed a result of a capacity shortage.

"This follows a technical problem at Medupi Power Station impacting additional generation supply," Eskom said in a statement.

"The heavy rains have caused coal handling and operational problems at several power stations," it said adding that its technical teams would be working through the night to restore units. – Nampa/AFP

Tullow Oil chief to exit

More than half of the value of Africa-focused Tullow Oil was wiped out on Monday as chief executive officer Paul McDade stepped down and the oil producer scrapped its dividend after failing to meet production targets due to weak performance by flagship assets in Ghana.

The London-listed company has been plagued by technical problems at its Jubilee field in Ghana and a delay in completing a well at the TEN offshore field.

Tullow, which had already cut its output estimates by 14% this year to 87 000 barrels per day (bpd), said on Monday its 2020 output would shrink further to a maximum of 80 000 bpd and fall again to around 70 000 bpd in 2021-2023.

Tullow also suffered blows in recent months due to setbacks at East Africa projects in Uganda and Kenya where it is yet to reach final investment decisions, as well as to its plans to develop oil fields in Guyana, one of the world’s hotbeds for exploration, where oil it discovered was of a lesser quality than hoped.

Tullow's director for exploration, Angus McCoss, also resigned. In a conference call, the company said it was open to receiving offers to acquire the company at the proper value. – Nampa/Reuters

New plan to rescue ArcelorMittal

Italy is negotiating a new plan with ArcelorMittal to save the Taranto steel plant that involves partial state ownership, prime minister Giuseppe Conte said on Monday.

"What I can say, without revealing secrets, is that the participation of public companies is anticipated," Conte said at an energy presentation in Rome.

Last month, ArcelorMittal - the world's biggest steelmaker - pulled out of an agreement to buy struggling Italian firm Ilva and said it planned to cut 5 000 jobs after Italian lawmakers revoked a period of legal immunity to bring the heavily-polluted site up to environmental standards.

Since then, Italy has been trying to find a way to save the Taranto plant in the south of Italy which has long been mired in controversy over its environmental impact. Experts believe that some 7 500 people have died in the surrounding area as a result of diseases linked to toxic emissions.

Italy considers the steel mill a strategic industrial site and faces pressure from unions, which are trying to protect the 8 000 jobs at risk. – Nampa/AFP

Prosus hikes hostile bid for Just Eat

Prosus, Europe's largest consumer-tech company, said Monday it has hiked its hostile takeover bid for Just Eat, in an attempt to derail the latter's merger deal with peer Takeaway.com.

Prosus announced in a statement that it has lifted its bid to £74 pence per share or about £5.1 billion (US$6.7 billion).

That compared with the previous £4.9-billion offer which was lodged in October after a stunning stock market debut had left Prosus flush with cash. Takeaway.com's merger deal, which was unveiled in July, valued Just Eat at £59.40 per share.

London-based business Just Eat, which had rejected the previous Prosus offer as too low, added it will now review the improved bid.

"Just Eat is a quality business, which we believe has all the ingredients to be transformed into a long-term sector winner," said Prosus chief executive Bob van Dijk in the statement. – Nampa/AFP

Sanofi to buy specialist Synthorx

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said on Monday it had agreed to buy US biotech firm Synthorx to boost its immuno-oncology portfolio.

Sanofi said it will pay US$2.5 billion for the US company which specialises in treatments prolonging and improving the lives of cancer patients or those with auto-immune disorders.

Immuno-oncology therapies aim to mobilise the body's immune system to fight cancer cells.

California-based Synthorx has developed a way to expand the human genetic code by adding a new DNA base pair in what it says is a "first-of-its-kind" approach boosting the chances of cancer therapies to be effective.

The French company is paying US$68 in cash for Synthorx, valuing the target company's stock at 172% above its closing price on Friday. – Nampa/AFP