South Africa’s Impala Platinum has entered agreements to implement a B-BBEE transaction for its Rustenburg assets as well as the Bafokeng assets that it took over in 2023.

This move will see black investors picking a 13% stake in both Impala Platinum, which owns the Impala Rustenburg and Impala Refineries assets, and Impala Bafokeng through its subsidiary, Impala Bafokeng Resources.

The equity ownership in Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources will be distributed among an employee share ownership trust, a community share ownership trust and a strategic empowerment consortium, with respective ownership stakes of 4%, 4% and 5%.

Implats has collaborated with Siyanda Resources, which will spearhead the strategic empowerment consortium's participation.

The transaction's three components will be facilitated through loans from Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources, with dividends used to service interest and capital repayments.

The community share ownership trust (CSOT), established through CSOT Proprietary, will subscribe for a 4% share in both Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources.

CSOT aims to benefit a broad range of beneficiaries from previously disadvantaged communities identified in the social and labour plans of the mines.

It will hold its interest through CSOT Proprietary, with funding provided by interest-free loans from Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources.

Additionally, CSOT is entitled to distribute 65% of its annual dividends from Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources to the beneficiaries, with the remainder used to repay the vendor funding.

The second component involves the Impala Bafokeng Resources employee share ownership trust (IBR ESOT), which will replace the previously proposed employee share ownership plan and will be open to all eligible permanent employees and volume contractors at the mines.

The third component is the Bokamoso Consortium, led by Siyanda Resources, which will hold a 5% shareholding in both Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources through Bokamoso Rustenburg Proprietary.

This equity interest will be funded by a R100m ($5.48m) equity injection from the consortium and vendor funding through preference shares issued to Impala and Impala Bafokeng Resources.

After the transaction, Impala Holdings will retain an 87% shareholding in Impala, alongside the CSOT Proprietary, the pre-existing Impala ESOT and Bokamoso Rustenburg Proprietary.

Similarly, Impala Bafokeng will hold an 87% stake in Impala Bafokeng Resources, with the remaining shares held by the CSOT Proprietary, the ESOT Proprietary and Bokamoso Rustenburg Proprietary.

The B-BBEE transaction is expected to be implemented by 30 June 2024, pending necessary approvals.