Company news in brief

WeBuyCars raises nearly R1bn ahead of listing

South Africa's WeBuyCars and Transaction Capital have raised R902.7 million in capital, they said on Tuesday, ahead of the seller and buyer of used cars' listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange yesterday.

WeBuyCars sold 40 million shares for R750 million while its parent company Transaction Capital, an investment holding company, sold 8.145 million WeBuyCars shares for about R152.7 million following a book-building process. The shares were priced at R18.75 apiece, the companies said in a statement.

The final number of ordinary shares in issue as at 11 April, the listing date, will be 417.2 million shares, WeBuyCars said, which at R18.75 per share implies a total market capitalisation of R7.82 billion for WeBuyCars.

From a family-owned business founded in 2001, WeBuyCars has grown into South Africa's leading pre-owned vehicle trader, with a market share of between 10% to 12%.

It buys and sells about 13 500 vehicles per month. – Reuters



Sibanya seeks millions to boost cash

Sibanye Stillwater said it may look to raise about US$500 million through prepayment arrangements such as so-called metals streaming to shore up its cash position, even as the company sees an improvement in metal prices and the market outlook.

Metals streaming involves selling future metals production in return for an upfront cash payment.

"We are testing the market, we're not hell bent on raising it ... but if we do it, it needs to be around US$500 million," CEO Neal Froneman told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a platinum mining conference in Johannesburg.

While Sibanye is not facing any risk of running out of money as metal prices continue to improve, it is "prudent" for the company to build sufficient liquidity buffers, he said. He ruled out issuing equity to raise the money.

The Johannesburg-based precious metals producer saw profits tumble US$2 billion last year due to lower metal prices and after the producer reported US$2.6 billion of impairments at its US palladium mines, a nickel operation in France and a gold mine in South Africa. – Reuters



Nike pins hopes on Olympics

Nike is set to unveil new kits for the Olympic national teams it sponsors including the US and Kenya, seeking to bolster its credentials as a performance gear brand for top athletes as well as everyday consumers.

After a long stretch of lacklustre sales, this summer's Olympic Games in Paris offer a fresh chance for Nike, official outfitter of Team USA, to direct the world's attention to its so-called performance products like running shoes.

The high-end shoes Nike will spotlight at the Olympics serve a relatively limited audience of amateur runners willing to spend US$285 for the latest Nike Alphafly 3 model. That compares to US$250 for rival Adidas' equivalent Adizero Adios Pro 3.

Brands like On Running, Hoka, and Lululemon are taking market share from Nike, while a trend away from chunky basketball sneakers and towards low-profile "terrace" shoes like the Adidas Samba is also hurting the sportswear giant.

While Nike, with annual revenue of US$51.2 billion in the year to 31 May, 2023, is much bigger than Adidas and Lululemon, analysts at HSBC expect its annual sales growth to lag those brands in 2024, 2025 and 2026. - Reuters