Implats tops up RBPlat holding to 36.41% in bid for majority stake

Impala Platinum (Implats), which is seeking to gain a majority stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat), has increased its stake to 36.41% after acquiring a further 2,165,000 shares in the targeted company.

The effective date of the acquisition of the new shares will be on April 1, Implats said on Friday.

Implats is hoping to secure at least 50% of RBPlat, after its bid to gain full control of the mid-tier miner was thrown off balance by Northam Platinum, which has since acquired a 35% stake in RBPlat.

The world’s third-biggest platinum group metals miner has been pursuing RBPlat for more than a decade, seeing an opportunity to own low-cost, mechanised shafts and to extend the life of its own deep-level operations in Rustenburg.

Some analysts questioned the logic of the deal for Northam, which does not own any mines in Rustenburg

But Northam CEO Paul Dunne has said RBPlat’s asset mix complemented Northam’s, as the assets were young, shallow and well capitalised and occupy a strategically important position in the Western Bushveld.

RBPlat was born out of a joint venture between Anglo American Platinum and Royal Bafokeng Holdings, the investment vehicle for the Royal Bafokeng nation, which holds a 36.1% interest in RBPlat.

In January, Implats announced that it would acquire RBPlat at R90 per share in cash and 0.30 of an Implats share.

mahlangua@businesslive.co.za