Johannesburg - Coal of Africa (CoAL) said on Friday that its R1.3 billion takeover proposal for the entire share capital of Universal Coal had fallen through as the offer had lapsed.
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Its share price dropped 18.92 percent to 60 cents a share on Friday. CoAL in December formally launched an offer to take over Universal Coal.
The offer closed on Friday, with the remaining conditions to the offer unfulfilled.
“Therefore, all contracts resulting from acceptances of the offer by Universal shareholders are void and of no effect,” it said. CoAL had received acceptances representing 95.72 percent of Universal’s issued share capital. As a result of the lapse of the offer CoAL now had no voting power in Universal, it said.
The overwhelming majority of Universal shareholders had accepted CoAL’s offer. But the conditional share offer with Eskom at Universal Coal’s NCC project in the Kriel District of Mpumalanga had not yet been finalised or signed.
Due to the continued “uncertainty” in finalising the coal sales agreement and the other working capital funding opportunities, CoAL’s directors were not able to comment on the required working capital statement.
BUSINESS REPORT