Impala Platinum (Implats) said on Friday it is in talks with Mvelaphanda Resources (Mvela) and Northam Platinum, sending shares of all three mining companies soaring.
Implats, the world’s number two producer of platinum, said it had entered into discussions to ”create a South African-controlled platinum champion”.
If the deal is successful, it will be the third-largest M&A transaction in South Africa to date, with the three companies’ combined market capitalisation at R147,5-billion.
Implats shares, which jumped 4,9% after the announcement, were trading up 3,55% at R200,89 at 2.35pm GMT. Mvela’s shares surged 21,92% to R47,55 and Northam’s share’s leapt 17,63% to R53,50.
The merger of Billiton with Australian mining house BHP to form dual-listed entity BHP Billiton in 2001 was valued at R223-billion, making it the biggest South African deal yet.
The buy-out of De Beers minorities by Anglo American, CHL and Debswana and the subsequent de-listing of De Beers in 2001 was valued at R153,7-billion.
Mvelaphanda said in a statement that it had been approached with an offer to acquire it and Northam’s entire issued share capital. Northam is a unit of Mvelaphanda.
Mvela denied on Monday that it was in talks with Aquarius Platinum about a possible merger with the world’s number three platinum producer, Lonmin.
Aquarius said earlier on Friday it was considering options to participate in a South African platinum industry consolidation, but said the options did not include a possible offer for Lonmin. — Reuters