Company news in brief

BHP woos SA govt

BHP Group has deployed a team of senior executives to South Africa as the world’s largest miner ramps up efforts to win over government officials, regulators and local shareholders, all of whom could yet determine the outcome of its proposed tie-up with rival Anglo American.

The executives have already begun conversations with key stakeholders, focusing on explaining the detail of the existing US$39 billion (around R740 billion at the time) proposal — currently back on the drawing board after it was rapidly rejected by its target — and its benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.

Despite its own historic links, BHP is starting on the back foot in South Africa, where the now London-based Anglo was founded and remains a household name, after its approach for the smaller miner last week caught senior officials off-guard. BHP’s complex proposal includes a plan for Anglo to spin off its Johannesburg-listed platinum and iron ore units before an eventual takeover of the remaining assets.

News that BHP wants an Anglo shorn of Kumba Iron Ore and Anglo American Platinum, comes at a difficult time for the government.

The country is due to hold a national election due later this month, a keenly contested race which could see the ruling party lose its majority for the first time since the African National Congress came to power in 1994.

The opposition has already presented BHP’s bid as a stinging rebuke of the government’s handling of the economy in a country with one of the world’s highest unemployment rates and deteriorating infrastructure. – Fin24/Bloomberg



Sasol CFO quits after just two years

Sasol's CFO Hanré Rossouw has tendered his resignation and will step down after little more than two years in the top job.

Rossouw has informed the company that he will step down from the board and his role as executive director at the end of October, the chemicals and synthetic fuels group said in a statement yesterday.

Following a lengthy handover process, Rossouw joined Sasol in April 2022, taking over from long-time CFO Paul Victor in July of that year.

His resignation comes just a month after new CEO Simon Baloyi took over the role from Fleetwood Grobler. It also comes as the group battles with a downturn in the chemical market and operational issues at its Secunda plan. Debt levels are also of concern to investors.

Abdul Davids, head of research at Camissa Asset Management said the resignation after just two years comes as a "big surprise." It also came amid "a new CEO still finding his feet," he said.

Shares in Sasol were down about 4% yesterday morning and have lost about 15% in the past month. The shares, which have also lost about 44% in the past year, crashed in late April when it warned of operation issues and that it was cutting its guidance for Secunda. – Fin24



J&J seeks backing for R200bn deal

Johnson & Johnson will ask thousands of people suing over its allegedly tainted baby powder to vote for a settlement that would resolve all litigation for US$11 billion (R204 billion) — US$2.1 billion (nearly R40 billion) more than the company offered last year.

In a news release Wednesday, J&J urged those who blame the talc-based powder for ovarian cancer to support a third bankruptcy filing aimed at corralling all current and future legal claims. Two earlier attempts to use Chapter 11 to foster such a deal failed as plaintiffs held out for a bigger payout.

This time around, the world’s largest maker of health-care products seeks a so-called "pre-packaged" bankruptcy under rules allowing companies to speed through Chapter 11 cases if they have enough creditor support.

In bankruptcy court, plaintiffs are converted into unsecured creditors. Under Chapter 11 rules, J&J will need 75% of talc plaintiffs to back the move for a bankruptcy judge to approve it.

The new plan calls for the company to pay US$6.48 billion over 25 years to resolve the ovarian cancer claims, though it’s unclear what portion will be set aside for current cases and how much would be placed in a trust for future claims.

Separately, J&J has settled about 95% of cases alleging that asbestos-tainted powder caused another cancer called mesothelioma and has reached tentative agreements to resolve consumer-protection suits brought by US states, according to the release. – Fin24/Bloomberg



FNB fine-tunes private banking strategy

South Africa's most valuable financial services group, FNB, is changing its definition of a private client to encompass families as it looks to offer a more holistic financial solution to high-end customers.

Eric Enslin, CEO of FNB's private banking and advisory unit, says the bank has about 1.4 million individual private clients across both the FNB and RMB brands out of a total of about 8.5 million active retail clients. Using its expanded client definition to encompass families, he says this leaves it with about 1 million "main banked" private clients.

FNB is in the process of increasing the threshold for becoming a private banking client to customers who earn at least R750 000 a year, from a previous threshold of R600 000 a year.

The new R750 000-a-year threshold will kick in from 1 July and will apply to new customers only, with Enslin says customers that were previously private clients at incomes below this level will not be left out.

Clients who earn above R1.8 million a year, or who have a net asset value of R15 million or more, will fall into the higher-end FNB Private Clients segment. Interestingly, these FNB private banking income bands (R750 000 to R1 799 999; and R1.8 million and above) are also replicated by the RMB brand, which is tilted more towards urban professional such as accountants, doctors and lawyers. - Fin24