Nikanor plc

Nikanor plc was a publicly quoted holding company for Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC) with assets in the rich Copperbelt region in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Nikanor plc was incorporated in 2006 with its registered head office in Douglas, Isle of Man. Nikanor's stock was listed on the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) Alternative Investment Market in London in July 2006. The initial public offering (IPO) raised US$400 million, and Nikanor's market capitalization reached $1.5 billion.
The senior management team of Nikanor included Emile Mota and Simon Tuma-Waku, who were the chief of staff and Minister of Mines and Energy under DRC President Joseph Kabila. According to "Mining Journal", Kabila promulgated the new mining code in 2002.
In May 2007, Beny Steinmetz, Dan Gertler and the Gertler Group, Nikanor's three main stakeholders, launched a hostile take over bid for Nikanor. The bid valued Nikanor's shares at £6.00, the price when it floated, and was presented by the Cosaf Ltd consortium
(which also includes the Swiss trader and Gertler's long-time associate, Glencore International AG and UK equity fund, RP Capital Partners). The bid was opposed by those shareholders in Nikanor not involved in the bid.
In January 2008, Nikanor was merged into Katanga Mining Limited. Katanga Mining Company (KMC) paid $452 million to Nikanor shareholders. Nikanor planned on participating in the consolidation of the companies operating in the Zambian–DRC Copperbelt region.
In a 2011 article by Reuters, journalists described how Glencore and Dan Gertler partnered in Nikanor from 2007 until its final merger with Katanga Mining.
Timeline.
Timeline summary of transactions:
Nikanor plc and DRC Copper and Cobalt Project (DCP).
On September 9, 2004, GEC signed a joint-venture (JV) agreement with the state-owned Gécamines to rehabilitate and operate the Kananga and Tilwezembe mines. The deal was ratified by Joseph Kabila's presidential decree. The final joint-venture structure was held 75% by GEC and 25% by Gécamines, with GEC undertaking to invest $300–400 million in a new leaching plant, with projected output to reach 200,000 tons of copper a year, based on its interests in the huge KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule). GEC and Gécamines formed a subsidiary named DRC Copper and Cobalt Project (DCP), 75% owned by Global Enterprises Corporate Ltd. and 25% by Gécamines, with properties located next to Katanga Mining's properties near Kolwezi.
Nikanor plc and KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule).
KOV (Komoto Oliveira Virgule) is a "massive open cast copper-cobalt project comprising the world-class assets Tilwezembe and Kananga deposits and the Kolwesi concentrator in the DRC's Katanga province." In 2006, exploitation permits for the assets were transferred to the companies' subsidiary, DCP. Gertler and Steinmetz placed GEC's 75% share of KOV into Nikanor plc, registered in the Isle of Man.
Nikanor and Katanga Mining Limited.
In January 2008, Nikanor was merged into Katanga Mining Limited, when the latter acquired it for $452 million. Katanga Mining Limited operates a major mine complex in the DRC producing refined copper and cobalt with the "potential of becoming Africa's largest copper producer and the world's largest cobalt producer." Katanga paid $452 million in cash to Nikanor shareholders. Nikanor planned on participating in the consolidation of the companies operating in the Zambian–DRC Copperbelt region.