TUESDAY, 12.30PM:
TALKS on a possible sale of Anglovaal mining subsidiary Avmin to Lonrho continued on Monday, and are reportedly at an advanced stage. If the sale goes through, Johannesburg Consolidated Investments’s bid to take control of 29,9% of Lonrho could be jeopardised. JCI was planning on buying Anglo American Corporation’s stake in Lonrho, but this move could mean Lonhro will issue new shares, thus bringing the JCI shareholding to below the strategic level.
It is believed JCI is strongly opposed to the Avmin-Lonrho deal. Any deal between the two will have to first be approved by Anglo American and, indirectly, by JCI. No concrete move towards a sale has yet been made.