JOHANNESBURG (Business Day) -- Amid a turbulent week for the world's second- largest platinum producer Impala Platinum (Implats) [JSE:IMP], the company said yesterday it had finally nailed down a deal to sell 7.5% of its Marula mine to a company headed by Bridgette Radebe - for R158 million ($22 million).
This is a crucial step for Implats and brings a measure of certainty to its empowerment plans for its two main South Africa operations, the first in the bushveld complex near Rustenburg, and the second, its Marula mine in Limpopo.
It was also a small measure of good news as the company's stock took a pounding this week, after Implats CEO Keith Rumble said he was stepping down to "pursue other interests".
Since then, nearly R10 billion ($1.4 billion) has been wiped from the company's market capitalisation as the price fell from a high of R1440 ($201) a share on Monday to R1295 ($181) yesterday.
Yesterday, director Les Paton said Implats was largely unconcerned about the drop in market value since Rumble's resignation, attributing this to volatility in stocks rather than concern over Implats' future.
"Share prices have come down significantly all around, and the volatility of the market has not necessarily got anything to do with Keith's resignation," he said.
This week has seen shares of AngloPlatinum fall 4%, while those of Barplats fell 6.7%.
Yesterday, Implats confirmed it had "signed and sealed" a deal to sell 7.5% of its Marula mine to Radebe's Mmakau Mining, following a hitch in negotiations.
In June, Implats said it had sold 7.5% of the Marula mine to Tubatse Platinum, and another 7.5% to the Marula Community Trust. The company had also mentioned the talks with Mmakau.
Paton would not reveal what the sticking point was with Mmakau during the negotiations, other than to say it was "nothing of serious consequence... mostly around wording of the agreements".
The deal means Implats has now sold 22.5% of its Marula mine to black investors - just shy of the 26% target expected to have been sold by 2014. While the Royal Bafokeng tribe are Implats' empowerment partners for the company's North West-based Rustenburg mines, yesterday's deal with Mmakau lays out a clear blueprint for empowerment at Marula.
