CITIBANK GOLD DEAL
Sibanye-Stillwater builds war chest against future strikes
The move will give the producer a stronger footing when it heads into PGM wage talks, says analyst
Fresh from a rights placement for R1.7bn, Sibanye-Stillwater will raise a similar amount by selling future gold production to Citibank, giving it protection from a potential platinum strike as relations with a major union deteriorate. Sibanye-Stillwater, with the equivalent of two-thirds of its R32bn market capitalisation as net debt, has said it is reinforcing its balance sheet in case of a strike at its SA platinum division, the current protracted industrial action at its local gold mines, as well as to prepare for any external events. Sibanye’s increasingly bitter relationship with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which is in the fifth month of a gold strike at Sibanye, could well spill over into local platinum group metals (PGM) businesses when wage talks start in June. "We believe there is an increasing risk of a strike at Sibanye’s SA PGM operations. "This is one of the biggest risks to the balance sheet, in our opinion," said Nedbank analysts Leon...
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