STOCK WATCH
Lonmin's troubles put the miner in play
Sibanye seen as most likely suitor for cash-burning platinum major after share price plummets more than 50%
For Lonmin shareholders, it must be the same depressing ride they took a couple of years ago, when the company’s share price dwindled to almost nothing, but for a potential suitor, this is a second chance to take over the world’s third-largest platinum producer. Sibanye Gold is the most likely bidder for Lonmin, but it made no move in 2015 when Lonmin’s shares fell by 98% ahead of a massively dilutive rights offer to raise $373m after costs to urgently prop up the balance sheet. The more than 50% decline in the value of Lonmin’s shares over the past 52 weeks puts the company back in play. The surprise resignation of well-regarded chief operating officer Ben Moolman this week adds to the negative perception, with analysts warning it was a sign of trouble within the firm. Lonmin warned in the first quarter it was spending more than it was earning. "C-level (executive) resignations at Lonmin have in the past presaged bad news, so Moolman’s resignation (effective April 5) — ostensibly ‘...
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