14 July 2006
Joint announcement by Anglo American plc, Evraz Group SA and Credit Suisse
Anglo American plc, Evraz Group S.A. and Credit Suisse are pleased to announce
that agreement has been reached in relation to the sale by Anglo American of
its shares in Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation Limited (“Highveld”).
Anglo American plc (“Anglo American”), Evraz Group S.A. (“Evraz”) and Credit
Suisse (“Credit Suisse”) are pleased to announce that agreement has been reached
in relation to the sale by Anglo American of its shares in Highveld Steel and
Vanadium Corporation Limited (“Highveld”). Evraz and Credit Suisse have each
acquired 24.9% of Highveld's share capital from Anglo American. These sales
have closed.
Evraz has an option to increase its stake in Highveld once regulatory approvals
are received, including from competition authorities in South Africa and elsewhere.
Evraz intends to file for such regulatory approvals as soon as possible. Subject
to Evraz receiving such regulatory approvals, Evraz will be entitled to purchase
Anglo American's remaining 29.2% shareholding as well as the 24.9% holding
of Credit Suisse through separate option agreements. Should Evraz increase
its interest beyond 35%, it will be obliged to make an offer to all shareholders
of Highveld.
On implementation of the Anglo American option arrangement, the aggregate
amount that will have been realised by Anglo American for its 79% interest
in Highveld is R4,885m (US$678m converted to ZAR at R7.20/US$, the rate of
exchange prevailing at the date of this announcement), equivalent to an average
of R62.36 per Highveld share. This represents a 13% premium to the volume weighted
average price of R55.15 per share for the 30-day period preceding Anglo American's
announcement on 26 October 2005 in which it recorded, inter alia, its intention
to dispose of its shareholding in Highveld.
Anglo American and Credit Suisse have agreed that Anglo American will retain
the voting rights in respect of the shares acquired by Credit Suisse. Anglo
American will retain representatives on the Highveld board until such time
as Anglo American disposes of all its shares in Highveld. Evraz's Chairman,
Alexander Frolov, said: “Evraz has great confidence in the South African steel
industry and is excited by its new investment in Highveld and by the outlook
for steel and vanadium markets. The South African steel market is experiencing
strong demand growth driven by an upswing in new mining, infrastructure and
industrial projects. We have high expectations of Highveld's internal growth
plans for both its vanadium and steel businesses, including the expansion plan
in excess of R1bn which will increase steel output by more than 20%. Evraz
is committed to advancing black economic empowerment at Highveld.”
Tony Trahar, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “This represents another
important step in the execution of the Group's strategy as announced in October
last year. This substantial foreign direct investment by Evraz and Credit Suisse
in South Africa is a strong vote of confidence in the country's prospects and
will ensure that Highveld remains an efficient competitor in the South African
and global markets.” Citigroup has acted as exclusive financial adviser to
Anglo American with respect to the transaction. Credit Suisse and ABN Amro
have acted as joint financial advisers to Evraz.
Notes to editors:
Highveld Steel and Vanadium is a leading vanadium producer and also produces
steel, ferroalloys, and carbonaceous products. Ore for the steelworks and Vanchem
is obtained from Highveld's Mapochs mine near Roossenekal in Mpumalanga. Hochvanadium
is a wholly owned subsidiary in Austria which processes and sells vanadium
products. Transalloys and Rand Carbide produce manganese alloys, ferrosilicon
and carbonaceous products.
Anglo American plc is one of the world's largest mining and
natural resource groups. With its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates,
it is a global leader in platinum group metals, gold and diamonds, with significant
interests in coal, base and ferrous metals, industrial minerals and paper and
packaging. The group is geographically diverse, with operations in Africa,
Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia. (www.angloamerican.co.uk)
Evraz is one of the world's largest vertically integrated
steel and mining businesses with operations in Russia, Italy and the Czech
Republic. Evraz has extensive experience and technical expertise in the production
of steel and, in 2005, produced 13.9 million tonnes of crude steel. Evraz is
listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation close to $9bn.
(www.evraz.com)
Credit Suisse. As one of the world's leading banks, Credit
Suisse provides its clients with investment banking, private banking and asset
management services worldwide. Credit Suisse offers advisory services, comprehensive
solutions and innovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth
private clients globally, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. Credit
Suisse is active in over 50 countries and employs approximately 40,000 people.
Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group, is a leading global financial
services company headquartered in Zurich. Credit Suisse Group's registered
shares (CSGN) are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary
Shares (CSR), in New York. Further information about Credit Suisse can be found
at www.credit-suisse.com.
Anglo American
London:
Investor Relations
Charles Gordon
+44 20 7968 8933
Media Relations
Pam Bell
+44 20 7968 8568
Johannesburg:
Investor/Media Relations
Anne Dunn
+27 11 638 4730
+27 82 448 2684
Evraz
Irina Kibina
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
and Investor Relations Director
+7 (495) 232-13-70
ir@evraz.com
Nikolay Kudryashov
Director, Media Relations
Credit Suisse
Jeremy Fletcher
Managing Director
+44 20 7888 1347
Hugh Richards
Director
+44 20 7888 7885
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