The sale of a stake in Sasol’s troubled Lake Charles Chemicals Project will now proceed after shareholders voted overwhelming in favour of the deal on Friday.
In October, Sasol announced the deal subject to shareholder approval wherein global chemicals company LyondellBasell would acquire 50% of the Lake Charles base chemicals business for $2bn (R30bn). The two parties would also form a joint venture.
At a general meeting preceding the Sasol AGM on Friday afternoon, 99.4% of shareholders voted for the deal to go ahead.
Sasol has grappled with delays and enormous cost overruns at the US project, which has stretched the company balance sheet. In the face of Covid-19 and low oil and chemicals prices, Sasol has accelerated efforts to cut costs and dispose of assets in a bid to avoid a potential $2bn rights issue.
The $2bn from the deal will cut net debt down from $10bn to $8bn.
A rights issue is not yet off the table, though. In response to shareholder questions, Sasol CFO Paul Victor said the rights issue could be as large as $2bn or as low as zero. He said the group will assess the need for, and size of, a rights issue in February 2021.
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