Mining & Metals Advisory Services

Mergers and acquisitions

Encompassing all aspects of corporate mergers and asset acquisitions, including initial review and evaluation, transaction structuring, negotiation and execution.  Incorporates the development and implementation of a financing plan and assistance with approaches to potential equity investors and lending institutions.

Strategic advice

Provided through an intimate understanding of the objectives and constraints of companies, their shareholders and the markets in which they operate.  Involves working with companies to provide essential input for the development and implementation of corporate strategies, potentially leading to acquisitions, disposals or partner searches.

Divestitures and asset sales

Mines and other assets typically change ownership through the course of their operating lives as they may no longer fit with a revised strategy, or where the current owner seeks to realise an investment.  M&MA advises on divestment strategy, valuation, identifying potential buyers, management of the sales process, bid analysis and agreement negotiations.

Valuations and fairness opinions

Independent valuation analysis using discounted cash flow projections, comparable transactions, stock market yardsticks and other valuation techniques to derive a fair value for companies or assets, taking into account structure and financing.  This expertise is a key component of most other services but is occasionally rendered on a stand-alone basis.

Project finance advisory

Typically for complex financings involving projects with difficult country risk profiles, where the scale of the financing is large in relation to the sponsor, or with joint ownership arrangements where the owners' objectives and financing capacities differ.  At the client's request, the team can act as an independent adviser, accessing all available funding sources or, in conjunction with the Group's Mining Finance division, providing specially tailored financing solutions.

Equity

As part of its Resource Banking business, Standard Bank Plc has allocated proprietary capital for equity or quasi-equity investments in selected private and public resources companies.  These investments provide equity exposure to high quality resource companies and facilitate a long-term working relationship between the companies and the Group.  Standard Bank Plc is also a cornerstone investor in the BTR Global Prospector Fund (managed by Salida Capital Corp in Toronto).  The focus of the fund is small to mid capitalisation companies active in late stage exploration and development projects.