SouthernEra splits assets

With platinum prices enjoying their best levels in years, the board of SouthernEra Resources (SUF-T) has approved a plan to hive off the company’s diamond and precious metal assets into two separately listed public companies.

Southern Platinum will house the platinum and gold assets; the shares began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol spc in late August. The new diamond business, SouthernEra Diamonds, will continue to trade on the Toronto exchange and the Alternative Investment Market under the new symbol sdm. Earlier this summer, 99.7% of SouthernEra shareholders present at the annual meeting approved the split.

The company will distribute one Southern Platinum share for each SouthernEra share held by shareholders of record at the close of trading on Sept. 1. Shareholders will also receive shares in Southern Platinum at the same rate by about Sept. 8. Share certificates formerly representing SouthernEra common shares will then represent SouthernEra Diamonds’ shares.

“The reorganization of the group into separate platinum and diamond companies represents a significant milestone in our company’s history,” says SouthernEra CEO Patrick Evans. “We believe the reorganization will unlock the considerable value of our diamond assets, which in recent years has been eclipsed by the growth in the value of our platinum assets.”