Johannesburg –
Sibanye says its bid to but the Stillwater mine in the US has been approved by
more than 80 percent of its shareholders.
The listed miner, which has been transforming into a platinum giant, added on Tuesday in a statement to shareholders that its plan to issue shares
to partially pay for the American mine was also approved by shareholders
holding more than 80 percent of its stock.
However, the deal
is still subject to other customary conditions.
In December, the South African gold and platinum miner said the deal presents the
opportunity for it to transform into a premier, global precious metals miner, with
a balanced portfolio of gold and platinum group metals assets, at a favourable
point in the commodity cycle.
Stillwater is the only US miner of PGM
and the largest primary producer of PGM outside of South Africa and the Russian
Federation. Located in Montana, US, Stillwater’s operations consist of two
underground PGM mines (the Stillwater Mine and East Boulder Mine), the Blitz
Project and the Columbus metallurgical complex.
The announcement of
the deal saw its shares plunge shortly after.
The company has
said it plans to raise $1 billion from shareholders and
a further $1 billion in debt, most likely bonds, to pay for the acquisition of
Colorado-based Stillwater Mining Company.
Read also: Sibanye to raise $2bn
The remainder of the loan will be repaid
through a combination of sources such as commodity-streaming deals, the company
said earlier this month.
It initially announced it would raise
$750 million to $1 billion from shareholders before saying in February it may
increase this amount to $1.3 billion.
CEO Neal Froneman
says in the statement that the company thanks shareholders for their support
for this transaction which “represents a unique and transformative opportunity
to acquire world class, low-cost international PGM assets.
“Stillwater offers
near-term organic production growth through the Blitz project, further
enhancing Sibanye’s asset portfolio and will create in Sibanye, a globally
competitive South African mining champion with a unique commodity mix”.