By Cristina Gallardo & Adam Whittaker
Anglo American said it will retain a 19.9% stake in Anglo American Platinum after its planned demerger this summer.
The London-listed miner said Monday it intends to retain the shareholding in the platinum business in an attempt to manage share flowback and offset the risk of existing shareholders selling the stock after the demerger.
Anglo American said it does intend to sell the remainder of its retained shares over time, and said that it will not hold any representation on the Anglo American Platinum board after the split.
Anglo American's decision to retain a stake after the demerger is not the clean break analysts had expected, RBC Capital Markets analysts Ben Davis and Marina Calero wrote.
"This should help with the possible flowback issues on the stock, particularly from passive index holders of Anglo American that would mechanically be selling the shares post demerger," they wrote.
The update came as Anglo American Platinum, which is based in South Africa, declared a final dividend of 16.5 billion rand ($900.2 million) on Monday. This would be paid to shareholders before the demerger, the company said.
The dividend consists of a base dividend of 0.8 billion rand--or 3 rand per share--and an additional cash dividend of 15.7 billion rand, or 59 rand per share, the company said.
Anglo American currently holds around 67% of Anglo American Platinum shares and said it expects to receive around $0.6 billion from the dividends.
In early morning trade in London, Anglo American's shares traded up 1.2% at 2,493.50 pence, while in South Africa, Anglo American Platinum's shares rose 3.4% to 678.38 Rand.
Anglo American decided to spin off its platinum business to simplify its operations following a failed takeover bid from rival BHP last year.
As the miner focused on its copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrient assets, it has been offloading shares in Anglo American Platinum and disposed of its steelmaking coal business.
In recent weeks, it said that it was making progress exiting its nickel business but its diamond business is proving hard to dispose of. It expects its De Beers diamond business to book an impairment at its full-year results due on Thursday.
Anglo American expects the Anglo American Platinum demerger to be completed in June and said that shareholders would vote on the separation at its annual general meeting on April 30.
Anglo American Platinum reported adjusted Ebitda for 2024 of 19.8 billion rand, the company said.
Write to Cristina Gallardo at cristina.gallardo@wsj.com and Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 17, 2025 04:42 ET (09:42 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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