JSE-listed AngloGold Ashanti has announced proposed offering of US$750 million aggregate principal amount of notes due 2028 (the “New Notes”). The New Notes will be issued by AngloGold Ashanti Holdings plc (the “Issuer”), a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and will be unsecured and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Company.

According to the mining company, the Issuer intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the New Notes, together with cash on hand, to :

(i) fund the purchase price for the Issuer’s outstanding 5.125% notes due 2022 (the “Existing Notes”) to the extent validly tendered and accepted for payment in a tender offer for the Existing Notes, (ii) redeem any remaining outstanding Existing Notes, which have not been validly tendered and accepted for payment in such tender offer, and (iii) pay related transaction fees, including applicable premia and expenses.

Anglo Ashanti in their press statement warned that the New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended, the “Insurance Distribution Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended, the “Prospectus Regulation”).

Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.