Impala Platinum (Implats) has released its circular for the mandatory offer to Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlats) shareholders. The offer price is R150 per share based on the Implats share price when the deal was first announced. The actual structure is R90 in cash and 0.3 Implats shares for each RBPlats share, an implied price at yesterday's close of R157.
As a reminder, Northam Platinum paid R180 per share to get Royal Bafokeng Holdings off the RBPlats shareholder register. The market was abuzz with speculation in December that Northam might launch its own offer at that price. At this stage, no such offer has been made and the RBPlats board has confirmed that no further update has been received from Northam. To add further spice to the story, the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) is currently investigating whether Northam should be required to make a mandatory offer to shareholders.
The board of RBPlats will post a response circular to the Implats circular within 20 business days. This will include the opinion of the independent expert (PSG) and the independent board's view on the offer by Implats.
RBPlats closed at R160 per share yesterday, slightly higher than the implied Implats offer price.
Sabvest Capital released a trading statement for the year ended December 2021. Net asset value per share is the key measure here, as Sabvest is an investment holding company run by Chris Seabrooke. That metric increased by 19% over the 12-month period to R88.58 per share. At a closing price of R61.00 (6.1% higher on the day), Sabvest is trading at a discount to net asset value of over 30%.
The
Vivo buyout is a step closer to completion, with the company announcing that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has given its approval for the delisting of the company should the transaction go ahead. div>
Capital & Regional Plc, a primarily UK shopping centre REIT, has provided an update on trading conditions. The fund is trying to focus its portfolio by selling off properties like an office block and a residential development. Footfall in the malls in December was at 74% of 2019 levels. Sales were stronger (reflecting a common trend of higher basket sizes) but the company doesn't give a percentage for this. Occupancy was 93% at the end of December vs. 90% at the end of September.
Capital & Counties Properties Plc (yes, a very similar name to above but a different company) also released a trading update. This is a large UK property fund that is part of the FTSE-250 Index. In the second half of 2021, the valuation of key property Covent Garden increased by 4.6%, taking the overall movement for the year to -0.6%. The company banked GBP77 million in proceeds on disposals of various properties in the second half of the year. The group ended the year with a net debt to gross assets ratio of 24%.
Jasco Electronics is going ahead with its rights offer to raise up to R55 million to strengthen the balance sheet. R30 million will be used to reduce debt and R25 million will be reserved for general working capital and investment requirements. Commitments for almost R47 million have been received from shareholders, of which R45 million is from Community Investment Holdings (CIH). CIH holds R20 million of the debt, which will be set off against the commitment. I was happy to note that CIH is not charging an underwriting fee for this commitment.
Labat Africa has completed its listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is preparing a circular for shareholders relating to the proposed raising of capital from GR Global Ventures LLC.
Nvest shareholders voted unanimously for the scheme of arrangement that will take the comp any private.
Finally, the latest episode of
Magic Markets saw the tables turned as one of our listeners took the mic and hosted us on our own show! We discussed a variety of topics, ranging from how we identify investment themes through to the behind-the-scenes work that goes into Magic Markets Premium.
Listen to Episode 58 here.
That's it for today. Have a great Tuesday!
The Finance Ghost
