Sibanye-Stillwater goes after Australia's New Century Resources

Precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW; JSE: SSW) has launched an off-market takeover bid for Australia's New Century Resources (ASX: NCZ), offering to pay $83 million for the shares it doesn't already own.

The South African company, already the largest owner of New Century with a 19.9% stake, said it planned to acquire another 10.92% of the zinc producer on market at or below the A$1.10 per share (A76 ?) offer price.

The unsolicited bid values New Century at A$144.1 million (US$99.54 million).

"The proposed takeover is in line with our strategy to invest in the circular economy and be a global leader in tailings retreatment and recycling," Sibanye, South Africa's largest gold producer and the world's third-largest producer of palladium and platinum, said in a statement.

According to Sibanye, New Century's balance sheet is under strain due to amortization requirements of an environmental bond facility for the Century zinc mine and potential funding needs for growth projects. These include the Silver King lead-zinc-silver deposit in Queensland and the Mt Lyell copper mine in Tasmania.

The Century zinc operations were placed on care and maintenance in 2016, following depletion of the original open pit reserves after producing and processing on average 475,000 tonnes per year zinc and 50,000 tonnes per year lead concentrate for 16 years.