Diversified miner Glencore has agreed to sell a 20.5% interest in Unicorn Chrome to a subsidiary of JSE-listed Merafe for R32.2-million.
The subsidiary, Merafe Ferrochrome and Mining, will gain access to Unicorn’s shareholding in a chrome concentrate producer that extracts chrome concentrate from a tailings stream in North West.
Merafe also considers Unicorn to be a valuable addition to its chrome interests.
The net asset value of Unicorn at the year ended February 29 was R21.2-million and it made a profit of R28.6-million for the year.
Merafe also confirms it has sufficient cash reserves to complete the acquisition and considers it as a long-term strategic investment that will place the company ahead of its peers from an operational perspective.
The acquisition is not subject to shareholder approval, but an independent professional expert from Tamela Holdings has confirmed that the terms of the acquisition are fair to shareholders.