Anglo American could be forced out
Resources Correspondent
REUEL Khoza and Moss Mashishi have emerged as two of the key players in talks with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) about building up a stake in Kumba Resources, SA's biggest ironore producer.
A deal involving Khoza and Mashishi, both prominent black businessmen, would fulfil the IDC's aspirations for Kumba to become a black-controlled firm. Control of Kumba is at the centre of a Competition Tribunal hearing at which the IDC is contesting Anglo American's plans to increase its stake in Kumba to 49%.
Khoza is CEO of Eskom Enterprises and head of Aka Capital and its resources arm, Aka Resources. Mashishi led the Johannesburg World Summit Company and last year teamed up with Graça Machel and Wendy Luhabe to buy a 20% stake in advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Rightford.
If they have the backing of the IDC and raise funds on the open market, this could torpedo Anglo's plan to take a controlling stake in Kumba.
Industry sources said Khoza and Mashishi, as well as Tony Ruiters who heads a company called Northern Cape Resources, would be part of a grouping looking to buy a 26% stake in Kumba.
If the Khoza grouping was successful, its stake, together with the IDC's 14% and the Public Investment Commissioners' 4%, would bring the empowerment holding in Kumba to 44%.
A successful bid by the KhozaMashishi consortium could also prompt Anglo to walk away from Kumba, as it threatened to do at the tribunal's hearings recently.
However, if the tribunal finds in favour of Anglo's plan to grow its interest in Kumba, the empowerment party could be the Tiso Consortium, which already has a 5% interest in Kumba.
At the tribunal hearings in the past two weeks, Anglo CE Tony Trahar said his company had been in talks with Tiso about a possible transaction that could see Tiso Consortium becoming a key empowerment partner in Kumba. Alternatively, Tiso could join the grouping headed by Khoza and Mashishi.
Comment: Page 12
Jun 10 2003 07:14:00:000AM Julie Bain Business Day 1st Edition
Tuesday
10 June 2003
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
