Johannesburg - The controversial R9.1bn empowerment deal between ArcelorMittal SA
[JSE:ACL] and a firm that includes a son of President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family has fallen through.
"Shareholders are advised that the parties involved in the BEE (black economic empowerment) transaction have not agreed on an extension for the satisfaction of the conditions precedent and that the subscription and shareholders' agreement has therefore lapsed," Amsa said on Monday.
The BEE transaction was unveiled in August last year and aimed to transfer 26% of Amsa's shares to black investors and staff.
Structured so that all the assets of Amsa would have been transferred into a new company, the deal would have seen 21% of the company held by a special purpose vehicle controlled by the Ayigobi Consortium led by Sandile Zungu and 5% held by an employee share ownership scheme that will benefit about 8 500 Amsa staff members.
Shareholding of the Ayigobi Consortium is in turn held 75% by strategic partners including several of Imperial Crown Trading's (ICT) shareholders as well as Mabengela Investments, which is led by President Jacob Zuma's son Duduzane Zuma.
The deal was highly criticised for targeting those who were politically connected.
At the time Amsa said it planned to acquire ICT for R800m in cash.
ICT's only asset is a 21.4% prospecting right in Kumba Iron Ore's
[JSE:KIO] Sishen mine and the awarding of that right is currently being questioned in court. Amsa did not clarify whether this deal had also been scrapped.