Evraz freezes plans to unwind South African asset stake after rescue call

14th Apr 2015 09:08

London listed miner Evraz's plans to dispose of its stake in its South African asset were dashed on Tuesday after the company said that business filed for rescue.Evraz Highveld Steel & Vanadium is said to not have adequate funding, resulting in its share listing being suspended in Johannesburg.As such, the company is to commence voluntary business rescue proceedings as it will fail to meet its obligations for the short term.UK listed Evraz was planning to sell 34% of the South African business to Macrovest 147 Proprietary Limited for 289m South African Rand (ZAR) however, this morning, those plans were put on hold.In 2007, Evraz acquired an 85% stake in Highveld from Anglo American and Credit Suisse but revealed its intention to dispose of the asset in 2013.Evraz cited historical operational difficulties, sustained financial losses, the weakened global steel and vanadium markets and a severe reduction of domestic steel demand for hitting the financial position of Highveld.