A NEW kid in the mining business that leads a consortium that will take over the ownership of Murray & Roberts (M&R) Holdings’ mining unit has promised to save 70% of the latter’s employees’ jobs while looking forward to creating more opportunities.
Differential Capital, which was established six years ago, was hoping that under its ownership, M&R’s giant mining unit would, in the future, grow stronger and create new job opportunities.
“The Differential Capital transaction will save close to 70% of all jobs.
“These jobs (under M&R's old ownership) would have been at risk had there been an immediate liquidation of the company,” said Differential's chief executive officer, Vincent Anthonyrajah.
He said M&R placed its South African subsidiary, Murray & Roberts Limited, and its trading division, OptiPower, into business rescue in 2024 due to liquidity constraints and substantial losses, “particularly from the descoping of the Venetia diamond mine contract, which significantly affected cash flow.”
He said OptiPower, which focused on energy infrastructure projects, will cease to trade and Differential will only buy the mining section of the M&R.
However, Anthonyrajah said his company would make “every effort” to preserve jobs.
He said the process of transferring M&R to Differential would be completed once M&R completes its business rescue process, which includes disposing of its non-core assets “to repay debt and restore liquidity”.
“This process is expected to take at least six months,” he said.
He said the retrenchment decision will be guided by the legal framework governing business rescue proceedings and the operational needs of the company.
When asked if M&R’s mining operations will change under Differential, he said he expected these businesses to continue delivering on contractual obligations with good prospects.
“Differential Capital recognises Murray & Roberts’ global expertise in mining contracting and the importance of preserving this capability,” said Anthonyrajah.
M&R did not respond to questions sent to it on Thursday morning, but according to Moneyweb on April 10, the company had been affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, which disrupted its operations.
Anthonyrajah described Differential, which was established in 2019, “during one of the most challenging periods in financial history”, as an innovative company to set a new benchmark for modern asset management.
“Differential Capital is a next-generation asset manager leveraging artificial intelligence and data-driven insights to redefine investment strategies.
“By integrating advanced machine learning models with rigorous fundamental analysis, we identify market opportunities with precision and agility.
“Our focus extends beyond traditional asset management, ensuring that our clients not only achieve superior returns but also benefit from a forward-thinking, technology-led approach to investing,” said Anthonyrajah.
In separate development, another mining and construction giant, Group Five, has been in the business rescue since 2019, and the process was yet to be finalised.
It remained unclear what the future holds for the employees of Group Five, which also features prominently in the construction, engineering, and comprehensive multi-disciplinary mining plant.
Group Five is currently under the business rescue practitioners Dave Lake and Peter van den Steen.
The company has, over the years since being placed under business rescue, released a series of statements updating its creditors and parties affected by the business rescue, and among the reasons this process, which started on March 11, 2019, had been delayed was the 2020 COVID pandemic shutdown.
On April 10, practitioners released a statement updating about the process, saying they were still collecting money owed to the company, dealing with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) related matters, including current and past VAT refund claims.
“SARS has requested a VAT audit to be completed from 2020 to 2025, which audit is currently in progress and ultimately should result in a material return of funds to the Company.
“The BRP is expected to submit all required documentation to SARS within the agreed-upon timeframe,” said practitioners.
They were still faced with the task of winding down some of the company’s subsidiaries. At the start of the business rescue, it had 179 subsidiaries, of which 85 were international, while another 94 were local.
Out of 68 that are remaining, 36 are international, while 32 are local.
During the quarter ended December 2024, a total of 5 companies were either deregistered or disposed of.
“The deregistration or liquidation of the remaining companies is dependent on the completion of audits, tax compliance being brought up to date, the conclusion of the disposal of assets or resolution of outstanding matters, with considerable progress being made in this regard,” said practitioners.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has expressed concern about the fate of thousands of workers at Group Five and M&R as job security hangs in the balance.
Another mining giant, Assmang Manganese, has already announced that its 600 employees would be left unemployed due to the pending shutdown of its plant in Cato Ridge outside Pietermaritzburg.
NUM national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said the workers’ future was the only concern for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)’s affiliated union.
“We are very worried about 600 workers (of Assmang) that are going to be retrenched,” said Mammburu.
The union was holding its breath, hoping that there would be no more massive retrenchment where Group Five and M&R are operating, as this would lead to a higher rate of unemployment.
“There has to be stability as instability is the cause of concern for our members; that is why we say that in a situation like Group Five, we want to see the way forward.
“If there is no way forward, it is going to affect our members, and we don’t want a situation where our members are concerned about what is happening in the company,” said Mammburu.