Finance | - Part 115

Oil to Open 2018 Stuck Between Thirst for Growth, Wary Investors

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investor exhaustion with poor returns from the oil and gas industry may mean less financing to expand the U.S. shale boom next year, and less of a drive for consolidation. After nearing a record in 2016, equity issues from U.S. oil and gas companies are on pace for an eight-year low this year, amid doubts about the stability of the rally in global crude prices. Mergers and acquisitions and…

Petronas Unit Said to Hold Talks With Shell Operator in Africa

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s South African unit, Engen, is in talks with Vivo Energy Holding BV to combine some of their African fuel-retail assets, according to two people familiar with the matter. The deal would be worth as much as 3.5 billion rand ($256 million), or about 20 percent of Engen’s equity value, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the negotiations are ongoing. Engen, which is 26…

Angola Plans to Open Up Telecoms Industry to Foreign Bidders

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola plans to sell a minority stake in a state-owned telecommunications provider and hold an auction for a fourth industry operator as new President Joao Lourenco shakes up the business environment and reduces the influence of his predecessor’s family. The government of the oil-rich west African country has received several expressions of interest from local and foreign investors in the new telecommunications license, state-owned news agency Angop said, citing the country’s…

The Cobalt Crunch for Electric Cars Could Be Solved in Suburbia

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Almost 9,000 miles from the dusty Congo savanna, miners have hit on an entirely new source of cobalt — the rare mineral at the heart of the electric-car boom. And not only can they take coffee breaks, when they take a break, they can grab a donut at Tim Hortons. Scientists working for American Manganese Inc., located in the suburbs of Vancouver, have developed a way to produce enough…

Naspers’s MultiChoice to Probe Contract With Gupta TV Channel

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd. pay-TV unit MultiChoice started an investigation into whether there was any evidence of wrongdoing regarding its contract with ANN7, a 24-hour South African news channel formerly owned by the politically connected Gupta family. Africa’s biggest company by market value was responding to allegations in local media that MultiChoice had a corrupt relationship with ANN7, which Gupta-controlled Oakbay Investments sold along with other South African media interests earlier this…

Naspers Targets Growth in Food to Cut Value Gap With Tencent

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd. is planning to invest more in businesses including food delivery to help narrow the valuation gap between Africa’s biggest company and its stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. The 33 percent shareholding in the Shenzhen-based company is worth about $166 billion, while Naspers itself is valued at $124 billion. There’s no reason for a discount at this “unusually high level,” Chief Financial Officer Basil Sgourdos said in…

Israeli Investor Said to Withdraw Zambia Mining Stake Bid

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sapir Capital, an Israeli private-equity firm, has withdrawn an offer to buy a stake in Zambia’s state-owned mining holding company for more than $100 million, according to two people familiar with the situation. Sapir canceled the offer after delays in the transaction but is still in informal talks with the government over a potential deal, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t…

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