Share

PPC gets banks to back R4bn share sale to investors

Johannesburg - PPC [JSE:PPC], South Africa’s largest publicly traded cement maker, said it received R4bn of bank guarantees to underwrite the sale of shares to existing investors, adding to facilities it received last week to redeem bonds.

A group of lenders including Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK], Nedbank Group [JSE:NED], FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank and Barclays’s Absa [JSE:BGA] will lead the rights-offer process and provide the standby underwriting commitment, Johannesburg-based PPC said in a statement on Monday.

Standard Bank was appointed as sole global coordinator.

The agreement comes after PPC on Friday announced that it obtained R2bn of guarantees from Absa, FirstRand [JSE:FSR] and Standard Bank to back the early redemption of bonds.

PPC is being forced to raise funds after S&P Global Ratings cut its credit rating to junk amid rising debt due to investment in new African projects, combined with a difficult trading environment in its home market.

"The execution of the irrevocable and unconditional guarantee in favour of note holders as well as the signing of the standby underwriting agreement are two major milestones,” chief executive officer Darryll Castle said in the statement.

"These pave the way for the company to resolve its capital structure issues effectively, and focus its efforts on implementing its strategy going forward."

The stock has almost halved in 2016, the worst performer on the FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.98
-0.4%
Rand - Pound
24.00
-0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.51
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
+0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
903.65
+0.8%
Palladium
1,016.75
+1.5%
Gold
2,207.48
+0.6%
Silver
24.59
-0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,260
+0.9%
All Share
74,450
+0.7%
Resource 10
57,117
+2.6%
Industrial 25
103,835
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,488
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders