JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Once relisted on the JSE, Randgold & Exploration (R&E) would “carefully balance” between investing in litigation to recover misappropriated assets and growing its asset base, CEO Marais Steyn said on Thursday.

R&E would have its shares relisted on the JSE on Friday, five years after trading in its shares were suspended in August 2005, as it was unable to produce audited financial statements for its 2004 financial year.

The company, which was formerly headed by the late Brett Kebble, said that this was owing to the fact that it was the “victim of widespread fraud and thefts of its assets” between 1999 and 2005.

Last week, R&E shareholders agreed to a R950-million settlement with JCI, which had also been run by Kebble during that period.

Following his death, a forensic report revealed that fraud had taken place during his reign, leading to years of disputes between the shareholders of the two companies.

R&E had already recovered R218-million from liquidated estates and settlements, of which R41-million was recovered from the estate of Kebble, who the company said masterminded the theft of assets from R&E.

Marais said that the minority investors in R&E would now finally get a significant distribution once the shares are relisted.

“Through all the trials and tribulations, we managed to increase the net asset value to about R20 a share after the company was suspended in August 2005 at R8,90 a share. The distribution will give shareholders something to smile about, but it would be great if we could do something special with the balance of the funds entrusted to us. We’ll consult closely with shareholders on our investment strategy,” he said in a statement.

If the settlement was approved by JCI shareholders on Friday, about R1-billion would be distributed to the R&E shareholders, with R500-million to remain in the hands of the company.

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