Zambezi in acquisition mode

Zambezi Platinum plans to help Northam Platinum make acquisitions and expand operations after paying R4.6 billion as part of a transaction for a 31.4% stake in the South African mining giant.

Zambezi, owned by black investors, listed preference shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange yesterday that it sold at R41 each. The Black Economic Empowerment legislation requires black people own at least 26% of mines.

“We are not just passengers in the vehicle, we are very much active participants,” Lazarus Zim, chief executive of Zambezi and Northam’s chairperson, said. “We are in a position to hopefully grow the company significantly.”

Zim is the former CEO of Anglo American SA and ex-chairperson of Kumba and Telkom. His Afripalm Resources helped to facilitate Northam’s acquisition of the Booysendal property in 2007.

Preference-share investors will be paid an annual dividend at prime plus 3.5 percentage points, a notice on Northam’s website says. Almost 160 million securities will be issued on May 18, following an offer to existing Northam investors, Zambezi said.

Northam, which owns the world’s deepest platinum mine, will use the proceeds of the Zambezi deal to pursue deals and expand mines, it said in October.

It announced a deal in February to buy the Everest mine, contiguous to Booysendal, for R450 million. – Bloomberg

We are not just passengers in the vehicle, we are very active participants Lazarus Zim Zambezi Platinum chief executive