Company news in brief

Antler starts gold hunt in Namibia

Antler Gold Inc., a mineral exploration company listed in Canada, has started exploration work at its Paresis Gold Project between Otjiwarongo and Outjo.

The project area covers approximately 21 000 ha within the highly prospective “gold corridor” of Namibia that hosts B2Gold’s Otjikoto Gold Mine, as well as Osino Resources’ Ondundu and Eureka Gold Projects, Antler said in a statement.

In December last year, Antler secured US$500 000 or N$9.5 million in a private placement to propel its gold exploration initiatives in Namibia and Zambia.



Mastercard injects billions into MTN

Mastercard, the world's second-biggest payments technology group, has agreed to invest US$200 million (R3.8 billion) into MTN's fintech business, a move Africa's largest mobile operator says will help drive financial inclusion.

The investment values the fintech business at US$5.2 billion, implying about a 3.8% stake, with the mobile operator first announcing the proposed deal in August.

MTN said yesterday that the agreements complement the larger commercial relationship between the group and Mastercard to support the continued development and growth of technology and infrastructure.

MTN, valued at about R176 billion on the JSE, has been looking actively for strategic partners for its fintech business, looking to sell up to 30% of it. Fintech includes its mobile money (MoMo) platform, insurance, airtime lending and e-commerce, and it contributed just under a tenth of the group's R113 billion in its first half to end June.

Mastercard is publicly valued at more than R8 trillion, and it operates in more than 200 countries and territories. – Fin24



Canal gets a no from MultiChoice

DStv and Showmax owner MultiChoice publicly rebuffed a takeover offer from Canal , but analysts say the French media giant is likely to remain interested in the operator of Africa's largest pay-TV network.

In a move that has thrown South Africa's foreign ownership media rules into the spotlight, Canal last week announced it was interested in paying R105 per share for MultiChoice, valuing it at R46 billion on the JSE. But the company said on Monday it feels this undervalues it, even before "any potential synergies which may arise from the envisaged transaction".

Canal had argued that scale would be essential to compete with global giants in Africa, creating a "world-leading offering of sports, local and global content." Canal , whose parent is Vivendi, operates in 50 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia, directly serving eight million customers in Africa. It had about 25 million total subscribers as of its 2023 year, while MultiChoice had 23.5 million.

The group has been steadily building up its stake in MultiChoice, now valued at about R40 billion on the JSE. It also announced on Monday that Canal has built up a stake of just over 35% in the group from 31.7% last week.

This is just above a threshold that would require the company to make a mandatory offer to shareholders, though the Companies Act contemplates these requirements in terms of "voting securities".

South Africa's Electronic Communications Act of 2005 places limitations on foreign ownership of local broadcast licences. This means Canal can increase its shareholding in MultiChoice to any level, but its voting rights are limited to a maximum of 20%.

MultiChoice said Monday it has requested that the Takeover Regulation Panel make a ruling whether a mandatory offer must be made. – Fin24