Anglo to spin off Mondi division

LONDON – Global mining giant Anglo American said Friday that it would de-merge and list Mondi, its paper and packaging arm, in London and Johannesburg next month.

Anglo American, which is registered in Britain but operates mainly in South Africa, said in a statement that the dual listing would go ahead on July 3, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Mondi Ltd will be a South African incorporated company holding Mondi’s African assets, while London-listed Mondi PLC will hold the non-African assets.”The demerger of Mondi represents a major milestone in delivering Anglo American’s restructuring programme in becoming a focused global mining company,” Anglo chief executive Cynthia Carroll said in the statement.”Mondi has been successfully built into a leading paper and packaging group and is today well positioned to compete on a global basis.”Mondi is a major supplier of packaging and business paper in Europe and South Africa and had sales of 5,75 billion euros in 2006, with some 34 000 workers across 34 countries around the world.Anglo American had already revealed in 2005 that it wanted to demerge Mondi as part of a restructuring programme to concentrate on its mining activities.Last year, meanwhile, the group had cut its stake in gold producer AngloGold Ashanti to about 41 percent as it sought to focus on industrial minerals.In mid-afternoon Friday London deals, Anglo American’s share price rose 0,86 per cent to 3,065 pence on the FTSE 100 index of leading companies.The FTSE meanwhile showed a gain of 0 22 per cent at 6 635 90 points.Nampa-AFPMondi Ltd will be a South African incorporated company holding Mondi’s African assets, while London-listed Mondi PLC will hold the non-African assets.”The demerger of Mondi represents a major milestone in delivering Anglo American’s restructuring programme in becoming a focused global mining company,” Anglo chief executive Cynthia Carroll said in the statement.”Mondi has been successfully built into a leading paper and packaging group and is today well positioned to compete on a global basis.”Mondi is a major supplier of packaging and business paper in Europe and South Africa and had sales of 5,75 billion euros in 2006, with some 34 000 workers across 34 countries around the world.Anglo American had already revealed in 2005 that it wanted to demerge Mondi as part of a restructuring programme to concentrate on its mining activities.Last year, meanwhile, the group had cut its stake in gold producer AngloGold Ashanti to about 41 percent as it sought to focus on industrial minerals.In mid-afternoon Friday London deals, Anglo American’s share price rose 0,86 per cent to 3,065 pence on the FTSE 100 index of leading companies.The FTSE meanwhile showed a gain of 0 22 per cent at 6 635 90 points.Nampa-AFP