Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) has won a court battle against a subsidiary of Wesizwe Platinum over the acquisition of Maseve Mine in 2018, for about R840 million, which it maintained it hadn't given its consent for asset sales.
In a statement on Friday, RBPlat informed its shareholders that Africa Wide Mineral Prospecting and Exploration Proprietary Limited – a subsidiary of Wesizwe Platinum, which held 17.1 percent of the shares in Maseve prior to the implementation of the share transaction – had instituted legal proceedings against Toronto-listed Platinum Group Metals (PTM), RBPlat and Maseve, in relation to the Maseve Transaction, where it sought to have the Maseve Transaction declared unlawful and invalid.
On Tuesday, the South Gauteng High Court found that Africa Wide Mineral Prospecting had failed to prove its case, and the case was dismissed with costs.
The company has until July 6 to appeal.
PTM had held 82.9 percent of the issued shares in the Maseve operation. Maseve was incorporated in 2008 by Africa Wide and PTM. From November 2016, Maseve experienced financial difficulties, and PTM and PTM Canada lent it about R4 billion in the form of shareholder loans.
BUSINESS REPORT