Company News in Brief
'Big concern': Eskom suffers setbacks at Medupi, KoebergElectricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom has suffered setbacks in the extension of life project for Koeberg's Unit 2 and repair of the Medupi coal power station, potentially placing nearly 2 000MW of the power utility's generation capacity at risk.
As the country reaches more than 200 days without load shedding (a five-year milestone for Eskom), Ramokgopa said increased recovery management, improved maintenance, and decreased unplanned outages at power stations have helped its fleet performance.
He said Eskom was on track to meet its target of 70% energy availability factor (EAF) in 2025, with EAF increasing 6% year-on-year to 63.9%. Meanwhile, unplanned outages have also improved.
However, despite this, the power utility's plans to recover units at the Koeberg nuclear station and the Medupi power station have not been as successful.
-FIN24
JSE gets fifth new listing this year with the debut of Altvest Capital
The debut of private investment platform Altvest Capital on AltX on Monday has brought to five the number of listings this year, with Africa's largest stock exchange indicating the worst is behind it in terms of the delisting trend.
So far this year, the JSE has seen the arrival of secondhand car retailer WeBuyCars, medicinal cannabis group CiloCybin, chicken producer Rainbow, and PowerFleet, an internet-of-things provider which merged with fleet management group MiX Telematics.
Two of the listings – WeBuyCars and Rainbow – were the result of their being unbundled from other groups, namely WeBuyCars and Remgro-controlled RCL Foods, while US-based PowerFleet took a secondary inward listing after its merger with MiX, which had been listed on the JSE.
Speaking on the sidelines of Altvest Capital's listing, Sam Mokorosi, head of origination and deals at the JSE, said what was "most exciting" for the bourse, which has about 280 listings, is that it is seeing a "decline in the number of delistings as well".
-FIN24
UK's Frasers buys 'significant' stake in fashion retailer Hudson Malta
British sportswear and apparel retailer Frasers (FRAS.L), opens new tab said on Tuesday it has bought a "significant" non-controlling stake in Africa-focused sport and fashion retailer and distributor Hudson Malta.
The financial terms of the stake purchase were not disclosed, but Frasers said the agreement allows it to potentially acquire a controlling interest in Hudson in the future.
The deal will help the company enter the Maltese market with the first Sports Direct store planned to open in 2025, and further expansion in the Northwestern Africa market, Frasers said.
The British retailer has been diversifying its portfolio over the last few years and has bought stakes in several brands including Hugo Boss, ASOS, Boohoo, Currys and AO World.
It is currently in talks with Mulberry, of which it is the second-largest shareholder, to buy out the handbag maker for 111 million pounds ($145.1 million).
Hudson manages close to 90 stores across Africa and southern Europe. and operates a distribution network of sport and fashion Brands, particularly Nike, in over 30 territories in Africa.
-REUTERS
Google to use small nuclear reactors for AI-intensive data centres
Alphabet's Google is investing in the development of the next generation of nuclear power, backing a company that’s building small modular reactors (SMRs) and agreeing to purchase energy once the sites start supplying US grids.
Google signed an agreement with Kairos Power to construct a series of SMRs that use molten-salt cooling technology. The move is part of an effort to bring online new carbon-free electricity as the company builds out data centres in the next decade, said Michael Terrell, senior director of energy and climate at Google. Power supplies are expected to start between 2030 and 2035.
The deal, which will back 500MW of power, includes Kairos’s 50MW demonstration Hermes project in Tennessee, followed by commercial scale reactors sized at 75 megawatts, the companies said.
Big technology companies are racing to line up power supplies for the massive data centres needed to run artificial intelligence systems. Surging demand for power is prompting utilities to build more natural gas-fired plants, undermining lofty environmental goals for both the industry and tech firms. It’s also driving up interest in nuclear plants that deliver clean energy at all hours.
"We are looking for net new clean power," Terrell said. "We are not looking to repurpose existing clean power." Terrell described the Kairos agreement as the first of its kind, which includes power offtake on multiple SMRs, in an effort to kick start the development of the technology. He spoke during a virtual media roundtable on Monday.
Both Google and Kairos Power declined to comment on any financial terms or the structure of the deal.
-BLOOMBERG
Coronation announces deal to secure 51% black ownership as transformation scrutiny intensifies
Coronation Fund Managers has announced a planned Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) transaction aimed at boosting its black ownership level to 51%.
The asset manager - with about R632 billion in assets under management (AUM) - said on Friday that although it was a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor with 31% black ownership, it continued to face "challenges" for not being at least 51% black owned. It added that not meeting the 51% black ownership threshold could place a meaningful portion of its AUM at risk in the future, as it had already experienced outflows of assets that were then allocated to asset managers that met the preferred black ownership level.
"There’s increasing regulation and increasing expectation from asset owners and society for 51% black ownership," Coronation CEO Anton Pillay told News24 in an interview. "It is important for us for two aspects. One is for the retention of those mandates, which fall into the [51% black ownership] requirement. And two, it is to attract new clients and be able to play in this space where the mandates are specifically allocated to 51% black asset managers."
Coronation will implement the transaction by issuing new shares equivalent to 9.7% of its share capital, which will then be allocated to two separate empowerment structures.
-FIN24