Johannesburg - Anglo Platinum said on Monday it wants South African authorities to ensure it does not lose affirmative action credits gained by selling a key asset, which is now a target by rival Impala Platinum.
Angloplat, the world's No. 1 platinum producer, and a unit of Anglo American Plc, recently sold its share of the vast Booysendal platinum asset to black-owned Mvelaphanda Resources (Mvela), which is now a target of Implats.
Implats, the world's No. 2 producer, last week made a R21.2bn bid made up of mostly shares and cash for Mvela and its unit Northam Platinum.
Mvela's prized jewel Booysendal is housed in Northam, and has over 100 million shallow ounces of platinum group metals.
Angloplat got the credits under South Africa's black economic empowerment (BEE) designed to embrace blacks in the mainstream economy and end decades of exclusion under apartheid.
"Angloplat has asked for written assurances and confirmation that our BEE empowerment status will not be prejudiced," Mary-Jane Morifi, Angloplat's spokesperson told Reuters.
"On-selling the company (Mvela) may create a situation where there isn't a BEE entity and which may mean we need to create a new BEE entity. This is why we want to clarify the issue."
Implats has said it wants to "create a South African-controlled platinum champion", and if successful, the deal would also boost Implats own affirmative action credits.
"We shall look at the proposed deal to see if it goes to the heart of de-racialisation and transformation," Bheki Khumalo, a spokesperson for the Department of Minerals and Energy said.
Analysts say Implats' deal throws the affirmative drive into question, because as in the case of Angloplat, it may lead to a dilution of credits already won, or a need for a company that has already taken part in an empowerment deal to do so again.
"Angloplat must be unhappy about the Implats deal," said Leon Esterhuizen, an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada in London.
"Angloplat sold part of Booysendal as part of its empowerment drive, now this asset belongs to its biggest rival. I think there is a moral issue here the DME should look into."
'Elitist'
Officials and analysts say the spirit of BEE would be compromised if assets are sold to black entities that fail to develop the resources and instead sell them off for a quick buck to yet another party, using them as a wealth-creation vehicle.
Others say BEE has concentrated wealth in the hands of a few politically-correct black executives, creating a wealthy elite and failing to filter to the grassroots.
Futhi Zikalala, a senior official in the department of minerals & energy (DME), told the Coaltrans conference last month the sale of mining assets received under BEE to larger entities degrades the aims of the country's empowerment drive.
Some analysts saw a dilution of competition.
"It is sad because this transaction reduces competition in the platinum industry," said Barend Ritter, a Cape Town-based platinum analyst at Sanlam Investment Management said.
"We had expected Mvela and its partner Afriplam to create a strong player in the sector."
Top black mining executive Lazarus Zim - a former chief executive officer of Anglo's South African operations - bought a stake in Mvela through his Afripalm investment firm and became Mvela's executive chairperson. Zim has said he is "confident" the DME would approve the proposed deal by Implats to buy Mvela.
Some analysts said companies in Angloplat's shoes should not be concerned where their assets end up once they sell them.
"Booysendal was no longer Angloplat's. Theirs was a done deal and they should not be worried as long as their BEE credits are safe," a Pretoria-based analyst, who declined to be named saying his firm was a shareholder in Implats, Mvela and Northam.
- Reuters