Star 2021-12-09

The sale has negated the need for RMI to have a R6.5 billion rights issue Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za RAND Merchant Bank Investment Holdings’ (RMI) share price shot up 7.8 percent yesterday after it an- nounced the sale of a 30 percent stake in UK-based Hastings Group to Norway- based Sampo Group for £685 million (about R14.44 billion). The sale has negated the need for RMI to have a R6.5bn rights issue, which it had announced in November as part of a major unbundling at RMI. Sampo is the 70 percent parent of Hastings. Sampo bought the 30 percent stake from Main Street 1353 Proprietary, which is 51 percent owned by RMI and 49 percent by OUTsurance Holdings – OUTsurance is an…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE OPERATIONS of national carrier SAA have largely escaped the turbulence hitting international carriers, which are facing mass cancellations as travellers avoid strenuous travelling restrictions due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to analysts. SAA retook to the skies in September after being grounded for over a year due to a lengthy business rescue following financial woes, exacerbated by the Covid-19 disruption. “SAA is not affected at all, because it is not flying the international routes yet. It is not going to London, the Netherlands or France where there are strenuous requirements and it has an advantage operating in Southern Africa and West Africa,” aviation analyst Phuthego Mojapelo said yesterday. Several countries have imposed sweeping travel restrictions on citizens travelling to…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za IMPALA Platinum (Implats) has upped the ante by increasing its stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) to 32.26 percent as it battles it out with Northam Platinum for the control of RBPlat. Implats said yesterday it had acquired a further 942 000 shares constituting 0.33 percent in RBPlat shares and planned to raise its shareholding even further through off-market purchases. “Implats may be acquiring further RBPlat shares after the date of this announcement while the offer remains open and, if required under the Companies Act or the Takeover Regulations, will make further disclosures and announcements in that regard,” said Implats. Implats, the JSE-listed platinum group metals producer, is in an intense bidding war with Northam Platinum. Northam announced on Tuesday that it had pushed…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za HARRY Smit, from Retail Active Shareholder Holdings, said yesterday that Tongaat Hulett’s shareholders were likely to face a massive dilution of up to two-thirds of their share value through the sugar and property groups’ proposed rights issue of up to R4 billion. Smit, who recently managed to assemble enough shareholder support to prevent a potentially dilutive rights issue at Ascendis Health, said Tongaat, like Ascendis, had a large number of small shareholders, “guys with 500 to 600 shares”. He said the dilution, depending on the share ratios of the rights issue, would be of such magnitude, it would likely prevent minority shareholders from being able to follow their rights in the capital raise, not to mention the value dilution. Tongaat’s market capitalisation stood at R767.4…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has remained circumspect, at least for now, on the issue of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination in the workplace after business confidence waned in November. Sacci’s Business Confidence Index released yesterday fell to 92.8 points in November from 94.9 points in October, upsetting the recovery seen after the July unrest. The business lobby organisation said the new Omicron variant and restrictions among major trading partners had led to a slump in both exports and imports in November. To protect economic recovery, Sacci said it remained important how the Covid-19 pandemic was managed and communicated, but it concurred that improved vaccine application had led to a sense of return to economic and business normality. Sacci chief executive Alan Mukoki, however,…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SHARES in junior coal miner Wescoal, which is going green, yesterday climbed nearly 14 percent in intraday trade on the JSE after flagging growth of up to 552 percent in profits for the six months ended September 2021. The shares hit a hight of R2.05, later closing at R1.97. Wescoal, which operates the Moabsvelden and Vaggenfontein collieries, said it was exploring opportunities in the renewable space, in line with its strategy to transition into a diversified energy group “anchored on its environmental, social and governance strategy”. “Wescoal understands the growing need for South Africa to move to less carbon-emitting energy technologies, and the group is setting itself up to play a key role in helping the country achieve this objective without leaving workers and communities…