Anglo says no to BHP

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Articles:

Ghost Bites: Anglo American has rejected the BHP proposal. Impala Platinum is retrenching. Invicta reworks its offshore structure. Finbond, Oasis Crescent, Reinet and Renergen released numbers. Sibanye wants to equity-settle its bonds. Read Ghost Bites, with thanks to Fedgroup.

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Local company news:

Ghost Bites is brought to you by Fedgroup.
Anglo American's board believes that BHP is "opportunistic" and isn't putting a high enough indicative price on the table. I would be very worried about any kind of deal that isn't opportunistic from the buyer's perspective, otherwise what's the point of going through the process? We now wait to see if BHP will give a higher indicative price, or if another bidder will emerge.
In other mining news, Impala Platinum has commenced a substantial retrenchment process and Sibanye-Stillwater is asking shareholders to approve equity-based settlement of its convertible bonds rather than cash-based settlement. At Renergen, the maintenance cycle has hurt profits and these numbers won't do anything to calm the nerves of bearish players in the market.
Moving on, Invicta has decided to restructure its holding in aftermarket parts business KMP by selling the stake to Kian Ann Engineering, in which Invicta holds a 48.81% stake. KMP has done alright, but hasn't shot the lights out in the last couple of years, so perhaps this will inject some energy into that story.
In other news, Reinet fund, which is the precursor to Reinet's listed numbers, grew its net asset value by 7.9% in just the last three months. That's in euros, by the way! And over at Oasis Crescent, the property fund that doesn't have any debt, the distribution is up by 12.9% for the year ended March 2024.
Finally, keep an eye on Finbond. It's been getting more attention from more speculative punters who expect a swing into profitability. The latest trading statement leaves more questions than answers unfortunately, but the direction of travel is positive.
Get the details in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

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International business news:

You might recognise the Comcast name if you've been following MultiChoice's strategic plans. Comcast has a significant stake in Showmax and the plan is to use Comcast's technology to deliver the streaming solution in Africa. If you've ever used the DStv app, you'll fully understand why they need a tech partner.
There's a lot more to Comcast than just the Peacock technology. The company beat revenue and earnings expectations in the latest quarter, although revenue was up by just 1.2%. They are having to push pricing increases into their broadband customer base, as new home connections have slowed down under increased competition and less churn among US homebuyers.
They are still losing plenty of money on Peacock, which is a useful reminder of Netflix's strength as a profitable player. This is despite Peacock being the exclusive home of Oppenheimer, along with plenty of live sports as part of the offering. Interestingly, the company notes that subscribers spend 90% of their time on non-sports programming on the platform. This also tells us something about why Netflix has been successful.
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Macroeconomic Update

The dollar has started the new week on a softer note ahead of the Fed FOMC meeting and Friday's non-farm payroll data. Last week's PCE inflation indicator came out in line with market estimates, with the market largely betting on the first Fed cut being in September. The rand has been given a break thanks to the dollar taking a breather.
Gold and palladium are slightly down this morning, while platinum is firmer. Traders are likely to be cautious ahead of major data this week.
Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.74; US 10-year 4.66%; Gold $2,334; Platinum ZAR R17,274; Brent Crude $88.68
This macroeconomic update is based on TreasuryONE's morning update.