Johannesburg - Anglo American, the world's second-biggest mining company, said yesterday it now owned a 66.6 percent stake in Kumba Resources, after its offer for the iron ore producer closed on Friday.
Anglo, which owned 35 percent of the company before the offer, bid R37 a share and said it would accept partial sales of holdings. Anglo was compelled to make the offer by stock exchange rules.
It previously agreed with the government that it would not exceed a 49 percent holding in Kumba.
"Now we must sit down with the government with a view to some resolution," said Anne Dunn, a spokesperson for Anglo in Johannesburg.
"That must be our first priority."
Anglo, based in London, wants to expand in iron ore to lessen its dependence on precious metals and diamonds, which are more volatile than industrial metals like iron. The transaction cost Anglo about R3.52 billion.
Many shareholders accepted the offer even though it provided only a 2.8 percent premium to Kumba's share price when it was made.
They were concerned Kumba's stock would become harder to trade, said Dave Tunnington, a resources analyst at Old Mutual Asset Managers in Cape Town.
Old Mutual, Africa's biggest money manager, held about 10 percent of Kumba before the offer, and accepted the bid for "most" of its holding.
"The problem is the free-float shrinks," Tunnington said. The shares became difficult to trade "and it trades at a discount to fair value".
Anglo has previously tried to compete with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group by making failed bids for assets in Australia and Brazil.
" is now in a position to work together with Kumba to utilise the opportunity presented by strong growth in global demand for iron ore to facilitate a multibillion-rand expansion of Kumba's iron ore assets," the company said in a statement to the Stock Exchange News Service.
Kumba closed R1 higher at R37 in Johannesburg yesterday.