Company news in brief

Cosatu lobbies against BHP bidSouth Africa’s biggest labour union federation urged local shareholders, including the powerful Public Investment Corporation (PIC), to oppose BHP Group's bid to buy Anglo American.The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which includes the National Union of Mineworkers among its members, said a deal wouldn’t be in the national interest. South African shareholders hold about 26% of Anglo, with the PIC owning 8.4%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BHP’s proposal to acquire Anglo on April 25 raised the ire of some members of South Africa’s government, including mining minister Gwede Mantashe. The Australian company responded by deploying a senior team including its chief executive officer to South Africa to win over government officials, regulators and local Anglo shareholders.BHP’s proposal includes a plan for Anglo to spin off its Johannesburg-listed platinum and iron ore units before an eventual takeover of the remaining assets. Anglo, founded in Johannesburg in 1917, also owns manganese and diamond mines in South Africa. While the miner was the bedrock of the South African economy for decades, it shifted its headquarters to London in the late-1990s.Anglo rejected the initial bid, but BHP is expected to make an improved offer, Bloomberg has reported. The PIC, which manages the pensions of government workers, has said it will assess any BHP offer."Cosatu is deeply concerned about the possible sale of Anglo assets in South Africa to BHP," the union federation said in comments sent to Bloomberg yesterday. "It is critical that South African shareholders, including the PIC, ensure these assets remain South African-owned." – Fin24/BloombergProsus inks R1.6bn dealA Turkish subsidiary of consumer internet giant Prosus, iyzico, has inked an US$87 million (R1.6 billion) deal to acquire fintech group Paynet in the country in a move that will bring a more comprehensive set of business-to-business (B2B) services."This strategic move marks a pivotal moment in iyzico's journey towards enhancing its portfolio and expanding its market reach and stands to be one of the largest acquisitions by a Turkish technology company in recent years," Naspers said in a statement yesterday.Iyzico is the Turkish pronunciation and abbreviation of "easy check-out" and Prosus held a just over 91% interest in the firm as of 2023 via wholly owned PayU.Prosus is the consumer internet arm of Naspers, housing its stake in Tencent, as well as its investments in online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, and education technology. It owns stakes in companies like iFood in Brazil, PayU, and Swiggy in India.The acquisition will see iyzico, which turned 10 years old last year and currently serves more than 120 000 merchants and 6 million consumers, integrate Paynet's expertise, technology, and customer base into its own system. This means the group is poised to deliver a more comprehensive service set with the inclusion of B2B payments and collections solutions from Paynet. – Fin24Mall of Africa under full Attacq controlProperty group Attacq said yesterday its 70%-held subsidiary Waterfall Investment Company (AWIC) has inked a R1.07 billion deal to acquire the 20% of the Mall of Africa it doesn't already own from Atterbury Property.The group said this is in line with its strategy to invest in well-positioned assets it already controls. The mall, which is eight years old and anchors Waterfall City, continues to perform strongly as one of the best performing super-regional malls in South Africa, it said yesterday.AWIC's 80% share of the Mall of Africa had a valuation of about R4.6 billion as of the end of December, and key clients include Checkers Hyper, Edgars, Game, Pick n Pay and Woolworths.Attacq, valued at R7.6 billion on the JSE, had a total SA portfolio worth about R18 billion. Its other assets including the Brooklyn Mall and Garden Route Mall, though Waterfall City makes up about two thirds of its local portfolio.Attacq's shares were up marginally on Tuesday morning but have risen more than 17% in the past year. – Fin24

Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-18

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Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-18

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