PPC clears second phase of BEE deal, South Africa

South Africa-based Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) said on Friday that all conditions set for the ZAR1.1bn (US$131.7m) second phase of its broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction had been fulfilled. The deal, which was announced in July, will give the cement and lime producer an effective 26 per cent black ownership, as required by the mining charter, enabling it to convert its old order mining rights to new order rights.

The first phase of the deal in 2008 resulted in 15.3 per cent of its shareholding being placed under black ownership in line with the charter requirements at that time. In the second phase 39.3 million shares or 6.5 per cent of PPC’s increased share capital, will be placed under black ownership, raising direct black ownership to 20.8 per cent.

Of the 6.5 per cent stake, PPC will issue shares worth ZAR733m to its roughly 2400 permanent South African employees, including whites, and shares worth ZAR291m to its strategic black partners while R54m will be for the benefit of black women groups in the Bafati Investment Trust.