Sibanye’s Lonmin deal faces delay due to Amcu’s opposition
As the Sibanye gold strike goes on, Amcu's appeal against the Competition Tribunal's approval of the Lonmin takeover could further delay the deal
The final date for the conclusion of the Sibanye-Stillwater all-share takeover of Lonmin could be tested by union Amcu's late appeal against the Competition Tribunal's approval of the transaction. Sibanye and Lonmin set the end of February as the date by which the deal — announced in December 2017 — would be concluded, securing a temporary waiver from Lonmin's lenders on the repayment of a $150m loan if certain covenants were breached. While Lonmin has put a $200m funding structure in place to repay that debt, the stop date on the takeover deal remains end-February 2019, with an already delayed shareholder vote from both companies expected early in the new year. Instead of having to repay the $150m on conclusion of the deal, Lonmin will have to repay between $60m and $80m on the new debt structure once the transaction is finalised, leaving the merged entity with a larger cash balance than under the old structure. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which no...
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