Anglo American sees 266 mln usd on Highveld stake sale UPDATE

Anglo American sees 266 mln usd on Highveld stake sale UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:38 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Adds details from AGM, including talks on Lepanto mine)

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Anglo American PLC said it should realise a further 266 mln usd from the sale of its remaining stake in Highveld Steel and it expects to effect the de-merger of its Mondi paper subsidiary by July 2007.

New chief executive Cynthia Carroll outlined the progress of the company's strategy to become a focused mining group, which has included selling certain assets, in a statement at the company's annual general meeting.

She said the company should realise 266 mln usd on the sale of its remaining 29.2 pct stake in Highveld Steel, which Russia's Evraz has an option to buy, following the sale last July of its majority stake for 412 mln usd.

The de-merger of Mondi, expected in July, has received regulatory approval for a dual listing in Johannesburg and London, and will split the European and South African operations into two companies, but retain the same management team to be headquartered in South Africa.

In her first AGM as chief executive, Carroll said Anglo American will be looking to complement organic growth with acquisitions 'when the time and the prices are right.'

'We have already established a strong presence in China where we hope to develop some significant investment opportunities, over the medium term, especially in coal and platinum,' she said.

De Beers, in which the company holds a 45 pct stake, has re-entered Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Anglo American will shortly open new offices in India and the DRC, in addition to its Moscow and Beijing representative offices.

The company confirmed that it has been in talks for an extended period regarding buying a controlling stake in Lepanto Consolidated Mining's copper and gold project in the Philippines. It did not provide further details.

Anglo American said it expects high metals prices to underpin growth this year.

'Stocks of most of the major metals remain relatively low and there remain significant constraints within parts of the supply chain,' Carroll said. 'Thus the outlook is for metals to remain significantly above long term equilibrium levels,' she added.

kathy.sandler@thomson.com

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