COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Exodus of shareholders at Gold Fields

Gold Fields top executive said disquiet over the South African miner’s R124 billion offer to buy Canada’s Yamana Gold hasn’t resulted in an exodus among its top shareholders.

The top Gold Fields investors are sticking around even after some shareholders initially expressed concerns that the Johannesburg-based company was overpaying to buy Yamana, Chief Executive Officer Chris Griffith said Tuesday in an interview. The CEO previously acknowledged that some investors initially balked at the 34% premium Gold Fields initially offered to investors of the Toronto-based miner along with the subsequent share dilution.

“There hasn’t been a major exodus of our top shareholders,” Griffith said while attending the Denver Gold Forum. “We have seen some shareholders sell on a bit but others increase. But mostly our top 10 shareholders have remained fairly constant - that does give us a sense of comfort around our shareholders supporting the deal.”

Gold Fields offered 0.6 of a share for each Yamana share in its initial proposal in May, and in July the company announced a more generous dividend policy to convince investors to support the deal. The deal currently values Yamana’s stock at C$6.01 (R80), representing a 6.7% premium to Tuesday’s closing price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Gold Fields counts South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation and BlackRock among its biggest shareholders. The gold producer needs at least 75% of its investors to back the takeover of Yamana, which has assets in Canada, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The deal is key to Gold Fields’ expansion in the Americas after shifting focus from its home country, where producers are struggling with the geological challenges of operating some of the world’s deepest mines. -Fin24

Germany to Nationalise Uniper

Germany will nationalise Uniper in a historic move to rescue the country’s largest gas importer and avert a collapse of the energy sector in Europe’s biggest economy this winter.

The government in Berlin will inject 8 billion euros (about R140 billion) into the Dusseldorf-based utility via a capital increase at 1.70 euros per share, Finnish parent company Fortum Oyj said Wednesday in a statement. Uniper has accumulated 8.5 billion euros in gas-related losses after Russia cut off supplies to Europe, sending prices for alternative sources soaring.

"Under the current circumstances in the European energy markets and recognizing the severity of Uniper’s situation, the divestment of Uniper is the right step to take," said Markus Rauramo, chief executive officer and president of Fortum.

As part of the deal, Germany will take full ownership of Uniper, buying Fortum’s controlling stake of around 78% for about 500 million euros, said Fortum, which is majority owned by the Finnish government. On completion of the deal, the German state will own approximately 98.5% of Uniper, it added.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition is determined to ensure Uniper’s survival in coming months, when the energy crunch could worsen as temperatures fall heading into winter.

Uniper has already been given a series of bailouts and rescue loans but those were quickly overtaken by the scale of the crisis and more robust state support is required. -Fin24



Paramount received orders its Mwari aircraft

Private South African defence firm Paramount Aerospace Industries has received orders for nine of its Mwari aircraft - the first military aircraft to be designed and built in the country in nearly two decades, the company said on Wednesday.

The first of the propeller-driven reconnaissance, surveillance and precision strike aircraft will be delivered this week, Paramount announced on the sidelines of the Africa Aerospace and Defence show in Pretoria.

Paramount declined to name the two initial customers for the Mwari. But the company said it was targeting military clients in developing countries in Africa and Asia for sales.

"We have immense interest around the world," Paramount Group founder Ivor Ichikowitz said. "Our biggest challenge right now is going to be to set up production capacity quickly enough to meet the demand."

The defence sector once played a major role in South Africa's economy - a legacy of the racist apartheid regime's need to produce locally due to embargoes - and boasted one of the world's most diversified non-aligned arms industries.

More recently, however, it has suffered from a squeeze on defence spending globally and a weak home market. -Fin24

Spain fines Delivery Hero's Glovo US$78 mln

Spain's labour ministry has fined Delivery Hero's DHER.DE local unit Glovo 79 million euros (US$78 million) for violating a law requiring food delivery companies to formally hire riders, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz told reporters on Wednesday.

A representative for Glovo was not immediately available for comment.

In 2021, Spain passed a law requiring that riders for food delivery platforms be employees signed to formal labour contracts, not freelancers.

The company has refused to give labour contracts to more than 10 600 riders in the country's second and third largest cities, Barcelona and Valencia, since the law came into effect last year, the labour ministry said in a statement. Local radio station Cadena SER first reported the fine. -Reuters