{"id":847454,"date":"2026-01-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=847454"},"modified":"2026-01-09T11:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:03:21","slug":"south-african-company-worth-r400-billion-thriving-after-international-giant-sells-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/847454\/south-african-company-worth-r400-billion-thriving-after-international-giant-sells-it\/","title":{"rendered":"South African company worth R400 billion thriving after international giant sells it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Valterra Platinum is expected to see big wins after Anglo American unbundled its shareholdings in the company last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valterra Platinum, formerly known as Anglo American Platinum, was founded in 1995 following the unbundling of assets of Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI) and its takeover by Anglo American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Anglo American announced that it would unbundle Anglo American Platinum as part of global restructuring to counter a takeover bid from its rival BHP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anglo American stated that the move would eliminate non-core assets, freeing up cash and management time. Anglo American is in the process of merging with Teck Resources, a Canadian company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anglo American thus exited Valterra Platinum throughout 2025 via an unbundling, which led to the most significant foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow in South Africa’s history in Q2 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valterra Platinum had faced a challenging few years before the unbundling, which included retrenching close to 4,000 workers. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valterra Platinum, which is also listed on the London Stock Exchange, has started its new life on a high note, with its share price soaring on higher PGM prices. It now has a market cap of around R389 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Anchor Capital warned that the constant rise in prices poses risks, it is still optimistic about Valterra Platinum’s position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The PGM basket has rebased higher in 2025, but this upswing has been fuelled more by speculative positioning, shifting policy expectations, and perceived scarcity than by a broad-based demand recovery,” said Anchor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With margins normalising from the lows of 2023, it is tempting to assume the rally has run its course, yet the market remains in flux.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anchor said that speculative flows continue to exert an outsized influence on prices, with US-led ETF inflows and futures activity amplifying both liquidity and tightness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of complex financial market instruments, auto demand for internal combustion engine [ICE] and hybrid vehicles has proven more resilient than expected, with markets up around 2% in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platinum, which South Africa holds around 80% of the world’s supply, is primarily used in catalytic converters to lower emissions in vehicles. Electric vehicles do not need platinum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As the US and EU reassess emissions and fuel-economy regulations, the relevance of PGMs in powertrains could persist for longer than many anticipate.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Overall, while speculative positioning has dominated recent price action, the combination of resilient auto demand and a more balanced regulatory risk\/reward suggests the market may have firmer fundamental support than initially assumed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Valterra stands out<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
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Valterra Platinum CEO, Craig Miller<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Against the backdrop of increased volatility and shifting fundamentals, Valterra stands out as a clear sector outlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anchor stated that Valterra’s fully integrated model, which spans from mining to global marketing, enables industry-leading cost control and margin resilience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mogalakwena, the largest open-pit mine, provides significant structural cost advantages, while technologies such as the Jameson Cleaner Circuit enhance cost efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Even after operational interruptions, including 1Q25 flooding at Amandelbult, management restored output ahead of schedule, demonstrating strong agility and discipline,” said Anchor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Valterra\u2019s low net debt, ample liquidity, and consistent dividend policy provide both stability and optionality.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With efficiency, mechanisation and disciplined capital allocation, Valterra is expected to convert the stabilising PGM backdrop into sustained margin uplift and stronger free cash flow (FCF) generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As industry spending normalises, higher capex is expected to pressure competitors\u2019 FCF and dilute returns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Although speculative flows have dominated recent PGM price dynamics, the next phase of the cycle will require confirmation of a genuine demand-led recovery, most likely anchored in the automotive sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Potential US and EU regulatory adjustments could further reinforce\u00a0platinum\u00a0and palladium demand.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With geopolitical risks at the forefront, Anchor said that Vatlerra’s operational excellence and financial strength position it as a relative winner as sentiment gives way to fundamentals.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Valterra Platinum Share Price<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valterra Platinum is one of Anchor Capital’s stock picks for 2026, with the company expected to outperform is competitors. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":826442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24466,2318,22100],"class_list":["post-847454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-opinion","tag-anchor","tag-anglo-american","tag-valterra-platinum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847454"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":847463,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847454\/revisions\/847463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}