Second TIME LUCKY FOR SASOL?
SIKONATHI MANTSHANTSHA: Fingers crossed for Sasol’s BEE deal 2.0
The lawyers and advisers collected their fees 10 years ago. And the investors? They have received not a cent
Earl Warren, a US judge who lived until 1974, had this to say about banks: "I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They’re first in with their fees and first out when there’s trouble." While I don’t feel as strongly about the role of banks in society, there is a lot of truth in this. You could take Warren’s point further and add another reason to hate banks: they tend to always insist on making money whether the deal is good or bad for the investor they are funding. Take the case of Sasol Inzalo investors. After putting in a minimum R18.30 to buy each Sasol Inzalo share in a R25.9bn deal in March 2008, all the BEE investors could do was to wait and hope their investment would appreciate significantly enough to pay off the debt they’d raised for the transaction. The aim was to ultimately acquire a 10% shareholding in the group. For the transaction to work and investors to benefit, Sasol’s share price had to increase to over R462 in a decade...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.