Business
Platinum Group Announces Ruling by High Court of South Africa Denying Challenge to the 2018 Sale of Maseve
Vancouver, British Columbia and Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - June 15, 2022) -...
About this update from Platinum Group Metals Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"Platinum Group Announces Ruling by High Court of South Africa Denying Challenge to the 2018 Sale of MaseveVancouver, British Columbia and Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - June 15, 2022) - Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX: PTM) (NYSE American: PLG) (\"Platinum Group\", \"PTM\" or the \"Company\") reports that on June 14, 2022, the High Court of South Africa delivered a judgment dismissing a challenge brought by Africa Wide Mineral Prospecting and Exploration (Pty) Limited (\"Africa Wide\"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Wesizwe Platinum Limited, to the 2018 sale of the Maseve Mine. In its judgment the High Court dismissed all of the claims for which Africa Wide contended and ordered Africa Wide to make payment of the defendants' costs.On November 23, 2017, definitive agreements were concluded to dispose of the share interests in Maseve Investments 11 (Pty) Ltd. (\"Maseve\") to Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited (\"RBPlat\") in a transaction valued at approximately US $74.0 million (the \"Maseve Transaction\"). The Maseve Transaction occurred as a scheme of arrangement (the \"Scheme\") by way of two interdependent stages in accordance with section 115 of the South Africa Companies Act (the \"Companies Act\"). Under the Scheme, Africa Wide was required to simultaneously dispose of its 17.1% interest together with the Company's 82.9% interest in Maseve. Stage one, being the sale of certain of Maseve's assets for approximately US $58 million in cash, was completed on April 5, 2018. Stage two, being the sale of 100% of Maseve's issued shares to RBPlat in exchange for RBPlat common shares, was completed on April 26, 2018. Notwithstanding that the statutory period to challenge the Scheme under the Companies Act had expired more than five months earlier, in September 2018 Africa Wide instituted legal proceedings against the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Platinum Group Metals (RSA) (Pty) Limited, RBPlat and Maseve, seeking to set aside the Maseve Transaction on the basis, amongst others, that stage one of the Scheme was completed without the consent of Africa Wide.In its ruling, the High Court found that Africa Wide had firstly failed to make its case on the evidence and secondly that, having failed to challenge the Scheme under the Companies Act, Africa Wide's case was statutorily barred. Platinum Group's CEO, Frank Hallam, ...