Sibanye Stillwater grants Eramet a put option for the acquisition of its Sandouville hydrometallurgical plant in France
Paris, 30 July 2021, 7:00 a.m.
PRESS RELEASE
Sibanye Stillwater grants Eramet a put option for the acquisition of its Sandouville hydrometallurgical plant in France
- Contemplated sale of Sandouville refinery based on attractive value terms and expected to generate a positive impact on Eramet’s results and cash position
- New prospects for the employees and the site which continues its turnaround
- Transaction in line with the Group’s strategic roadmap aiming at focusing on its core growth projects
Following the strategic review of the Sandouville site, Eramet announces the signature of an exclusive put option agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater, a leading player in precious metals, for the sale of 100% of the shares of its subsidiary, Eramet Sandouville (“Operation”), a hydrometallurgical plant located in France.
The net proceeds from the sale would amount to c.€65m subject to closing adjustments and would be payable upon completion of the Operation.
Eramet could exercise the put option upon the completion of the consultation process of the relevant Eramet’s works councils, which is standard for this type of transaction. The Operation would then be subject to final conditions precedent mostly related to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals.
The site, which employs around 190 people, specialises in the manufacturing of high value-added nickel salts and high-purity metal for specific applications in electroplating, catalysis, super-alloys and electronics materials. In H1 2021, its turnover totalled €77m for an operating loss before D&A of €14m.
Should the transaction succeed, Sibanye-Stillwater plans to continue the turnaround and develop new activities on site.
Christel Bories, Eramet group Chair and CEO, commented:
“This agreement is an opportunity for the Sandouville site and for the Group. Subject to its completion, the transaction would unlock a sustainable future for the site and new prospects to the benefit of the employees and the Normandy region, and would enable Eramet to focus on its core strategic projects.”
Calendar
25/10/2021: Publication of 2021 third-quarter turnover
ABOUT ERAMET
Eramet transforms the Earth’s mineral resources to provide sustainable and responsible solutions to the growth of the industry and to the challenges of the energy transition.
Its 13,000 employees are committed to this through their civic and contributory approach in all the countries where the mining and metallurgical group is present.
Manganese, nickel, mineral sands, lithium, and cobalt: Eramet recovers and develops metals that are essential to the building of a more sustainable world.
As a privileged partner of its industrial clients, the Group contributes to making robust and resistant infrastructures and constructions, more efficient means of mobility, safer health tools and more efficient telecommunications devices.
Fully committed to the era of metals, Eramet’s ambition is to become a reference for the responsible transformation of the Earth’s mineral resources for living well together.
www.eramet.com
ABOUT SIBANYE-STILLWATER
Sibanye-Stillwater is a leading international precious metals mining company, with a diverse portfolio of platinum group metal (PGM) operations in the United States and Southern Africa, gold operations and projects in South Africa, and copper, gold and PGM exploration properties in North and South America.
Established in 2013, the Group has grown and diversified into one of the world’s largest primary producers of platinum, palladium and rhodium and is also a top tier gold producer, ranking third globally on a gold-equivalent basis. It also produces other PGMs, such as iridium and ruthenium, and chrome, copper and nickel as by-products. Not only does the Group mine PGMs, it is also the world’s leading global recycler, processor and smelter of spent PGM catalytic converter materials.
Sibanye-Stillwater is listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation of US$12 billion. The Group generated a turnover of around c.$7.7 billion in 2020 and employs more than 80,000 people.
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