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De Beers sa (DBsa) is pleased that The De Beers Group of Companies, and its Black Economic Empowerment partner, Ponahalo Investments Proprietary Limited (“Ponahalo”), have concluded agreements with The Standard Bank of South Africa (“Standard Bank”) and Absa Bank Limited (“Absa”). Standard Bank and Absa will directly refinance Ponahalo relating to a portion of the original acquisition cost of its 26% interest in De Beers Consolidated Mines Proprietary Limited over a funding period of seven years.
De Beers will simultaneously refinance, on improved terms, a portion of the Ponahalo debt currently held by Standard Bank, and existing Ponahalo debt held by De Beers, both for a period of seven years. In total, Ponahalo has US$373 million of debt, of which 61% will be financed by De Beers, and 39% by Standard Bank/Absa.
This refinancing will improve the long-term sustainability of Ponahalo and underpins De Beers’ commitment to the major capital investment at Venetia Mine to extend the life of South Africa’s largest diamond mine.
Note: An exchange rate of US$1:R11.00 has been used for the purposes of this announcement.
Contact
Lynette Gould
Tel +44 20 7430 3434
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Tom Tweedy
Tel +27 11 374 7173
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About The De Beers Group of Companies
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with unrivalled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people (directly and as contractors) across the diamond pipeline, and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to Living up to Diamonds by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers visit www.debeersgroup.com