Sibanye Gold Ltd. announced on February 21 it had received the approval of the South African Reserve Bank, as required in accordance with the Exchange Control Regulations of South Africa, with respect to the proposed acquisition of Stillwater Mining Co., which was announced on December 9 and is valued at $2.2 billion.
The transaction remains on schedule for closure during the second quarter of 2017 and remains subject to the approval of the holders of a majority of Stillwater and Sibanye.
“We are extremely pleased to have received another important regulatory approval, which takes us another step closer to concluding this transformative transaction,” said Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye. “Management remains focused on ensuring that the remaining conditions are met and will notify stakeholders as further progress is made.”
Sibanye is headquartered in South Africa and is that nation’s largest producer of gold from domestic mines. The company has recently expanded into production of platinum group metals (PGM) through the acquisition of mining assets. Stillwater is the only U.S. miner of platinum group metals, with two mines and a metallurgical processing complex in south-central Montana.
