Trading Day – Sanlam wants to buy a controlling stake in Afrocentric

Sanlam had announced an offer to acquire a controlling stake in Afrocentric for R6.00 per share, increasing its stake in the company to between 55% and 60%.

Meanwhile, Glencore faces mounting lawsuits due to market manipulation and bribery charges it pleaded guilty to in May.

In other news, Datatec declares a special dividend of R12.50 related to the Analysys Mason sale, distributing the entire gross proceeds to shareholders.

Here is the biggest news of the day.

• Sanlam announces an offer to acquire a controlling stake in Afrocentric for R6.00 per share. Sanlam intends to purchase between 36.9% and 43.9% of the current issued share capital from shareholders. If the offer is successful, Sanlam will hold between 55% and 60% of Afrocentric shares. Sanlam intends to use this investment to expand its client proposition to provide a more holistic product offering, including medical aid, health insurance, and administration.

• Glencore faces mounting lawsuits due to market manipulation and bribery. Glencore in May pleaded guilty to a range of charges from bribery and corruption in South America and Africa, to price manipulation in US fuel-oil markets and paid a $1 billion fine. Mubadala Investment Company and International Petroleum Investment Company are among over a dozen funds that filed claims at a London court against Glencore and a group of its executives. Other claimants include Funds linked to Phoenix Group, Standard Life, HSBC, abrdn, Norges Bank, and the Kuwait Investment Office.

• Datatec declares a special dividend of R12.50 related to Analysys Mason sale. Datatec sold its 71.2% shareholding in Analysys Mason and intends to distribute the initial gross proceeds, totaling £135.1 million, to shareholders. The company, however, expects a significant decrease in earnings for the first half of FY23. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) is expected to decrease between 20% and 37% to between $0.04 and $0.05. The company’s interim results are due on 3 November.

• Tharisa grows cash balance and yearly PGM and chrome production volumes. Annual platinum group metals (PGM) production rose 13.6% to 179.2 koz (kilo-ounces). However, prices fell 16.6% for the year from US$3 074/oz to US$2 564/oz. Annual chrome production is up 5.1% to 1582.7 kt (kilo-tons), while the price also increased 35.7% from US$154/t to US$209/t. The company managed to increase its net cash position from US$78.6 million to US$143.4 million. The Karo Platinum project is on schedule with ‘ground-breaking’ due December 2022.

• Goldman Sachs reigns in consumer banking ambitions due to concerns over costs and profitability. The bank plans to reorganize and redistribute its existing consumer banking offering to its already-strong wealth-management business. The bank’s share price is down 24% this year due to the challenging economic environment.