Tembo Capital chose a curious moment to sell its stake in Orion Minerals. The Prieska copper-zinc mine is close to a construction decision, and one of its longest-standing backers is heading for the door. You could read that as cold feet, but Tembo’s Fund II is nearing the end of its life, having backed Orion since 2017.
Tembo’s shares found willing buyers in longtime backer Thomas Borman and, it appears, Stanlib. Orion identified the second buyer only as a “prominent South African institution”, but a separate filing disclosed that Stanlib had acquired 561.8-million shares for about R122.5m. The asset manager had already taken a stake in Orion in June. While Tembo’s exit appears to have been driven by the approaching end of its fund’s life, Stanlib’s growing interest suggests that investors are willing to back Orion ahead of the imminent construction decision.
Not every mining shareholder was heading for the exit. Allan Gray increased its holding in Pan African Resources from 5.06% to 6.04%. There’s much to admire: gold production jumped 38.6% in June and Pan African’s board has approved up to R500m in share buybacks.
The caution is in the gold price. Pan African received an average of $4,235/oz, while all-in sustaining costs rose from $1,600/oz to $1,867/oz. A retreat in bullion would narrow that handsome margin. Allan Gray’s increased exposure is interesting, but only its fund managers can say whether they’re backing production growth, gold prices or both.
The shareholder register gets more intriguing at medicinal cannabis group Cilo Cybin. Chair Tham Seng Kong sold 28.76-million shares off-market for R22.4m, leaving him with a 9.17% stake. Malaysian tycoon Lim Kuang Sia, founder of medical glove giant Kossan Rubber Industries, had acquired a 12.48% interest. Curiously, Tham’s 28.76-million shares represent almost exactly 12.48% of Cilo’s ordinary shares, strongly suggesting Lim was the buyer, though this remains unconfirmed.
The two directors aren’t strangers; both held stakes in Malaysian health-care group Alps before Cilo’s 2024 listing. The transaction looks like a transfer between long-standing business associates rather than an insider exit. But it brings no fresh capital into Cilo, which recently reported an 18.7% decline in revenue and a R239.7m annual loss, largely inflated by a one-off accounting charge.
Elsewhere, German fund administrator Hansainvest acquired a 5.03% stake in Calgro M3, whose shares traded at R3.86 against the last reported NAV of R16.46. The discount is striking, though property development requires cash, not just impressive balance sheets.
Lazard also crossed 5% at Nedbank, where underlying diluted headline earnings grew 15% after excluding the Ecobank effect. Meanwhile, Peresec Prime Brokers increased its Spar holding to 10.45%, though a prime broker’s position need not reflect a single investor’s conviction — particularly relevant given Spar’s 53.9% slump in interim headline earnings.
A2X
On A2X, Prosus led trading with R540.9m in turnover and a 19.77% market share, followed by Glencore at 14.17%. Mr Price and Pan African Resources also featured prominently with R53.39m (9.27%) and R53.04m (8.29%) in turnover, while Sasol captured R214.2m (8.21%).
