BISICHI MINING PLC
Vunani Mining (Pty) Limited purchases 37.5% shareholding of Black Wattle
Colliery (Pty) Limited
Bisichi Mining PLC (“Bisichi”), the UK mining company with direct coal mining
operations in South Africa, is pleased to announce that Vunani Mining (Pty)
Limited (“Vunani Mining”), has concluded the purchase of a 37.5% shareholding
in Black Wattle Colliery (Pty) Limited (“Black Wattle”), Bisichi’s operation in
Middelburg, South Africa.
The transaction has been entered into via a share subscription and shareholders
agreement, the details of which are as follows:
* Black Wattle’s total issued share capital has been increased from 136
shares to 1000 shares at par of SA Rand 1 through the following shares
issue:
*
+ a subscription for 489 ordinary shares by Bisichi at par increasing
Bisichi’s shareholding from 136 ordinary shares to a total of 675
ordinary shares;
+ a subscription for 110 ordinary shares by Vunani at par;
+ a subscription for 265 “A” shares by Vunani at par
* The “A” shares will rank pari passu with the ordinary shares save that they
will have no dividend rights until such time as the dividends paid by Black
Wattle on the ordinary shares subsequent to 30 October 2008 will equate to
SA Rand 832,075,000
Commenting on the transaction, Ethan Dube, Chief Executive Officer of Vunani,
said:
“We are very excited about this coal mining investment. It provides a platform
from which to build both organically and by acquisition our interests in the
coal mining sector. Black Wattle is a leading independent opencast colliery in
South Africa with access to both the export and domestic markets.”
.
Announcing the acquisition of the minority stake, Andrew Heller, Managing
Director, Bisichi Mining PLC said:
“Vunani is a leading, publicly-listed, black-owned and managed company and we
are very pleased that they have joined us as a partner in Black Wattle. We are
proud of our longstanding commitment to Black Economic Empowerment in South
Africa and we see this transaction with Vunani as the first of many we will do
together in South Africa.”
END
For further information please call:
Andrew Heller or Garrett Casey, Bisichi Mining PLC 020 7415 5030
Notes to Editors:
1. Vunani Mining
Vunani Limited is a black owned and managed financial services company that
operates through two divisions: Financial Services and Investment Services.
Financial Services is composed of the fund management, investment banking and
property business units. Investment Services houses Vunani’s strategic
empowerment equity investments, including its mining investments in Wesizwe
Platinum and Black Wattle Colliery.
2. Black Wattle, Bisichi’s direct coal mining operation in South Africa is
located in Middelburg, Mpumalanga and produces high quality export steam coal,
low phosphorous metallurgical coal, and Eskom coal from its opencast
operations. Bisichi became involved in Black Wattle in 1994. In 1999, Black
Wattle became one of the first Black Economic Empowered mines in South Africa.
