Exchange-Listed Companies
Production at Anglo American’s Moranbah North coal mine, a key asset in the announced November 2024 deal with Peabody Energy, was suspended after an underground fire broke out at the mine in March this year. The incident has created huge uncertainty on the timeframe of the deal. The transaction comprised an upfront cash portion of $2,05 billion and deferred payment of $725 million. The balance of the consideration comprises a $550 million price-linked earnout and a contingent cash consideration of $450 million which is linked to the reopening of Grosvenor coal mine. In response to concerns raised, Anglo American said it did not believe production stoppage at the mine constituted a Material Adverse Change to its agreement with Peabody.
Gold Fields through its wholly owned subsidiary Gruyere, has entered into a scheme of agreement to acquire 100% of the issued shares of Gold Road Resources, with shareholders receiving a cash consideration equivalent to the value of A$3.40 per Gold Road share – higher than its original offer. The consideration per share comprises a fixed cash portion of $2.52 and a variable cash portion equal to the full value of each shareholders’ portion of Gold Road’s shareholding in Northern Star Resources of c.$0.88 per Gold Road share. In addition, if the deal becomes effective, shareholders will receive a special dividend from Gold Road of c.$0.35 per share (A$379 million). The scheme consideration values Gold Road’s equity at c.A$3,7 billion (R43,66 billion) with an implied total enterprise value of c.A$2,6 billion. For Gold Fields the acquisition represents a strategically low-risk opportunity to enhance its portfolio through consolidation of the Gruyere Joint Venture in which it is the operator.
In addition, AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) and Gold Fields have agreed to pause a two-year long discussion around a proposed joint venture to combine their Iduapriem and Tarkwa gold mines in Ghana. During this time, AGA has identified changes in its standalone mine plan for Iduapriem which have the potential to unlock significant additional value. The companies will, for now, focus on improving the current standalone performances of their respective sites while allowing AGA to consolidate the improvements to its long-term mining plan.
AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) will sell its interests in two gold projects in Côte d’Ivoire to Australian Resolute Mining in a move which will allow the miner to focus on its operating assets and development projects in the US. It will sell Centamin West Africa which owns the Doropo Project and the Archean-Birimian Contact – both acquired when it bought Centamin plc in November 2024. The value of the consideration for the sale of the Doropo Project is US$175 million, comprising a cash payment of $150 million plus either (i) the acquisition of the Mansala Project which, as a brownfield project, will provide an additional ore source to AGA’s Siguiri operations or (ii) an additional amount of $25 million if the acquisition cannot be completed within 18 months. A milestone payment of $10 million in cash will be paid for the Archean-Birimian Contact on declaration of a mineral reserve.
Unlisted Companies
Menar, a South African diversified industrial group, has acquired Springlake Colliery from Mylotex. Considered a strategic asset for Menar, Springlake is an underground mine situated within the Klipriver Coalfield near Hattinspruit in KZN. It has the capacity to produce an c.60,000 tonnes of run-of-mine anthracite per month, suitable for export markets in parts of Asia, Europe and South America. Financial details were undisclosed.
DealMakers is SA’s quarterly M&A publication.
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