In a press statement issued from Johannesburg, Sibanye-Stillwater has announced that it has secured a US$500 million upfront cash payment through a streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. In return, Sibanye-Stillwater has committed to deliver a percentage of gold and palladium produced from its United States Platinum Group Metals operations (comprising its East Boulder and Stillwater mining operations.
Sibanye will benefit from the transaction in the following ways:
- The US$500 million upfront cash payment, immediately reduces Sibanye-Stillwater’s leverage, decreasing Net Debt
- The streaming agreement is a long-term financing instrument with no repayment of any of the Advance Amount under any circumstances and no minimum delivery obligations, at a cost that is lower than the Company’s alternatives in international capital markets.
- The Transaction ensures the realisation of significant value uplift from the US PGM operations for Sibanye-Stillwater shareholders, by crystalizing the value of by-product gold production and the 31% increase2 in the palladium price.
CEO, Neal Froneman, commenting on the Transaction, said, “The streaming transaction is further delivery on our strategic commitments and validates the value we identified in the Stillwater assets. Importantly, the transaction results in a significant reduction in Group leverage, improving flexibility and reducing financing costs and risk. We are extremely pleased to have secured this competitively priced financing arrangement with a company of the quality of Wheaton International.”
