HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nikanor plc was a publicly quoted
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
for Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC) with assets in the rich
Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining and is the second largest global reserve of copper, ...
region in
Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
,
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
(DRC). Nikanor plc was incorporated in 2006 with its registered head office in
Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas (, ) is the Capital (political), capital city and largest settlement of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021) and an area of . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, Isle of Man, River Douglas, and on a sweepi ...
. Nikanor's stock was listed on the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
's (LSE)
Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market, Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in opera ...
in London in July 2006. The
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO) raised US$400 million, and Nikanor's
market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...
reached $1.5 billion. The senior management team of Nikanor included Emile Mota and Simon Tuma-Waku, who were the chief of staff and Minister of Mines and Energy under DRC President
Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...
. According to ''Mining Journal'', Kabila promulgated the new mining code in 2002. In May 2007, Beny Steinmetz,
Dan Gertler Dan Gertler (; born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI (Dan Gertler International) group of companies. Until 2022, his group had mining and oil interests in the D ...
and the Gertler Group, Nikanor's three main stakeholders, launched a hostile take over bid for Nikanor. The bid valued Nikanor's shares at £6.00, the price when it floated, and was presented by the Cosaf Ltd consortium Cosaf Limited (Cosa) consortium (which also includes the Swiss trader and Gertler's long-time associate,
Glencore International AG Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, England as well as its primary listing being on the London Stock Exc ...
) is managed by a subsidiary of RP Capital Partners Cayman Island Limited and owned by family members of Dan Gertler and Ruwenzori Limited (Ruwenzori), which is itself controlled by Cosaf. (''Early Warning Report'' 26 March 2010)
(which also includes the Swiss trader and Gertler's long-time associate,
Glencore International AG Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, England as well as its primary listing being on the London Stock Exc ...
and UK equity fund, RP Capital Partners).RP Capital Group, co-founded in 2004 by Rafael Berber and Peter Kellner, specializes in alternative investment management strategies and advisory services. RP Capital established Ruwenzori Ltd in 2007 as a "special purpose vehicle" (SPV) to raise £372 million for Nikanor (''Mining Journal'' 2008). RP Explorer Master Fund (RP Explorer) Cosaf Limited (Cosa) is managed by a subsidiary of RP Capital Partners Cayman Island Limited and owned by family members of Dan Gertler and Ruwenzori Limited (Ruwenzori) which is itself controlled by Cosaf) (''Early Warning Report'' 26 March 2010) The bid was opposed by those shareholders in Nikanor not involved in the bid. In January 2008, Nikanor was merged into Katanga Mining Limited.Katanga Mining Limited TSX:KAT operates a major mine complex in the DRC, producing refined copper and cobalt with the "potential of becoming Africa's largest copper producer and the world's largest cobalt producer (Katanga Mining, February 11, 2009)." Katanga Mining Company (KMC) paid $452 million to Nikanor shareholders. Nikanor planned on participating in the consolidation of the companies operating in the Zambian–DRC Copperbelt region. In a 2011 article by Reuters, journalists described how
Glencore Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, London, England as well a ...
and
Dan Gertler Dan Gertler (; born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI (Dan Gertler International) group of companies. Until 2022, his group had mining and oil interests in the D ...
partnered in Nikanor from 2007 until its final merger with Katanga Mining.


Timeline

Timeline summary of transactions: *October 7, 1996: New Inca Gold Ltd corporation was incorporated under the Laws of Bermuda. *March 2004:
Dan Gertler Dan Gertler (; born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI (Dan Gertler International) group of companies. Until 2022, his group had mining and oil interests in the D ...
of Dan Gertler International, a diamond dealer and close friend of DRC President
Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...
, in partnership with Beny Steinmetz Global, founded a firm named Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC), which engaged in copper and cobalt refining activities. *May 5, 2004: GEC signed a preliminary agreement with the DRC's state-owned la Générale des Carrières et des Mines,
Gécamines La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) is a Congolese commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Lubumbashi, in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a state-controlled corporation founded i ...
. *July 8, 2004: New Inca Gold Ltd Corporation consolidated its common shares on a ten-for-one basis and changed its name to Balloch Resources Ltd. *September 9, 2004: GEC signed a joint-venture agreement with Gécamines to rehabilitate and operate the
Kananga Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of the Kasai-Central, Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï ...
and Tilwezembe mines. The deal was ratified by Kabila's presidential decree. The final joint-venture structure was held 75% by GEC and 25% by Gécamines, with GEC undertaking to invest $300–400 million in a new leaching plant, with projected output to reach 200,000 tons of copper a year. *2005: ''Bloomberg Business Week'' reported that Global Enterprises Corporate Limited was founded in 2005 and was based in the
British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...
. *Summer 2005: Gécamines granted management of a refining plant at Luilu to
George Forrest George Forrest may refer to: *G. Topham Forrest (George Topham Forrest, 1872–1945), principal architect for the London County Council *George Forrest (author) (1915–1999), American author and musician *George Forrest (botanist) (1873–1932), S ...
's Kinross-Forrest subsidiary. In September, they reached an agreement with GEC to share the refinery, the only one in the region. It was rumored that Gertler had used pressure from Kabila to obtain the concession. *November 30, 2005: Balloch Resources Ltd Corporation (formerly New Inca Gold Ltd) changed its name to Katanga Mining Limited. *July 17, 2006: GEC became a subsidiary of Katanga Mining Limited. *2006: GEC and Gécamines formed a subsidiary named DRC Copper and Cobalt Project (DCP), 75% owned by GEC and 25% by Gécamines. Exploitation permits for their assets were transferred to DCP. Gertler and Steinmetz placed GEC's 75% share in KOV ( Komoto Oliveira Virgule), an open cast copper-cobalt project including the Tilwezembe and Kananga deposits and the Kolwesi concentrator, into Nikanor plc, registered in the Isle of Man. *July 2006: Nikanor plc was incorporated with its registered head office in Douglas, UK. Nikanor's stock was listed on the LSE's Alternative Investment Market. The IPO raised $400 million, and Nikanor's market capitalization reached $1.5 billion. *February 2007: Mining entrepreneur Moise Katumbi was elected governor of Katanga Province.Katumbi supported President Joseph Kabila and "helped finance his electoral campaign by selling the rights to the Kinsevere copper deposit", held by Moise Katumbi's firm, Katanga Mining Company (KMC), to Anvil Mining Ltd (''Mining Journal'', 2008)." *February 2007: KMC signed a $30 million sub-contracting agreement with Nikanor plc, for the construction of a plant to process copper and cobalt. *2007: Bateman Engineering's feasibility study showed that the overall cost of rehabilitating KOV had grown from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion. *April 2007:
capital expenditure Capital expenditure or capital expense (abbreviated capex, CAPEX, or CapEx) is the money an organization or corporate entity spends to buy, maintain, or improve its fixed assets, such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, or land. It is considered ...
on stage one of the KOV project was estimated at $1.6 billion, and total required funding was estimated at $1.8 billion. By this time the company's market capitalization had fallen to £517 million. *May 2007: A meeting of Nikanor shareholders was proposed to examined a proposal to raise between $450 and $650 million. *May 2007: Beny Steinmetz, Dan Gertler and the Gertler Group, Nikanor's three main stakeholders, launched a hostile takeover bid for Nikanor. *June 1, 2007: Nikanor announced a placement, structured and managed by RP Capital, to raise £372 million. The placing was partially subscribed by Ruwenzori Ltd, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established by RP Capital. *June 2007?: Nikanor's stock fell following the announcement that it would issue 62 million new shares to raise £372 million towards developing its KOV mine.KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule) is a "massive open cast copper-cobalt project comprising the world-class assets Tilwezembe and Kananga deposits and the Kolwesi concentrator in the DRC's Katanga province (''Sergeant'', April 4, 2007)." *June 2007: Nikanor announced that Glencore would purchase half of the new 62 million shares issued. Glencore agreed to buy the entire copper and cobalt production at its DRC project. *January 2008: KMC acquired Nikanor plc for $452 million. *February 2008: It was confirmed that Katanga Mining was selling Dikuluwe Mine and Mashamba West to Gécamines for $825 million. There had been speculation since KMC took over Nikanor that the Dikuluwe and Mashamba West deposits were being transferred to
Gécamines La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) is a Congolese commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Lubumbashi, in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a state-controlled corporation founded i ...
, and would be exploited by a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between Gécamines and a Chinese consortium.


Nikanor plc and DRC Copper and Cobalt Project (DCP)

On September 9, 2004, GEC signed a joint-venture (JV) agreement with the state-owned Gécamines to rehabilitate and operate the
Kananga Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of the Kasai-Central, Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï ...
and Tilwezembe mines. The deal was ratified by Joseph Kabila's presidential decree. The final joint-venture structure was held 75% by GEC and 25% by Gécamines, with GEC undertaking to invest $300–400 million in a new leaching plant, with projected output to reach 200,000 tons of copper a year, based on its interests in the huge KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule). GEC and Gécamines formed a subsidiary named DRC Copper and Cobalt Project (DCP), 75% owned by Global Enterprises Corporate Ltd. and 25% by Gécamines, with properties located next to Katanga Mining's properties near
Kolwezi Kolwezi or Kolwesi is the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It has an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. Just outside of Kolwezi there is the static inverter plant of the ...
.


Nikanor plc and KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule)

KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule) is a "massive open cast copper-cobalt project comprising the world-class assets Tilwezembe and Kananga deposits and the Kolwesi concentrator in the DRC's Katanga province." In 2006, exploitation permits for the assets were transferred to the companies' subsidiary, DCP. Gertler and Steinmetz placed GEC's 75% share of KOV into Nikanor plc, registered in the Isle of Man.


Nikanor and Katanga Mining Limited

In January 2008, Nikanor was merged into Katanga Mining Limited, when the latter acquired it for $452 million. Katanga Mining Limited operates a major mine complex in the DRC producing refined copper and cobalt with the "potential of becoming Africa's largest copper producer and the world's largest cobalt producer." Katanga paid $452 million in cash to Nikanor shareholders. Nikanor planned on participating in the consolidation of the companies operating in the Zambian–DRC Copperbelt region.


See also

* List of mining companies *
Mining in Africa The second-largest mineral industry in the world is the mineral industry of Africa, which implies large quantities of resources due to Africa being the second largest continent, with 30.37 million square kilometres of land. With a population ...


Notes


References


External links

* * * * *{{Cite news , author1=Onstad, Eric , author2=Laura MacInnis , author3=Quentin Webb , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-glencore-idUSTRE71O1DC20110225?pageNumber=2 , title=The biggest company you never heard of , publisher=Reuters , date=February 25, 2011 , accessdate=2011-02-28
Glencore
official website
RP Capital Group Investments
official website 2006 establishments in the Isle of Man Companies formerly listed on the Alternative Investment Market Mining companies of the Isle of Man Holding companies established in 2006 Mining in Katanga Province Copper mining companies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo