Sasol plunges after saying it needs to settle R12bn in debt
Sasol tumbled the most in 15 months on Wednesday, after the biggest producer of fuel from coal said it may sell about R13bn worth of shares to meet its obligation to repay debt owed by black investors. The decline in the company’s stock since the mid-2014 slump in crude prices precludes payouts to more than 250,000 black South Africans who participated in the Inzalo transaction in 2008, and forces Sasol to settle about R12bn it owes. An equity issuance is the best financing solution, CEO Bongani Nqwababa said. Sasol fell as much as 7.6%, the biggest intraday decline since June 2016, and was trading down 6.7% at R371.75 at 3.47pm. The potential bookbuild is "the biggest driver right now", Wade Napier, an analyst at Avior Capital Markets, said by phone. When Inzalo unwinds in 2018, those investors will have the option to participate in Sasol’s next leg of empowerment, Khanyisa, which aims to take black ownership of its South African unit to 25%. The plan to purchase and then cancel th...
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