ARM shares plunge 13%

Pula Graphite claims Motsepe firms violated agreement.

- Ciaran Ryan

African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) has seen its share price drop 13% since late October as the company faces a $195 million (about R3.5 billion) anti-compete claim in Tanzania.

The company has lost nearly a third of its value since July, with the latest drop coming after news of the court case in Tanzania, where Pula Graphite is seeking compensation for what it says is a breach of a non-disclosure and non-compete agreement.

The size of the claim is roughly equivalent to the drop in ARM's market cap.

The case was brought by the Tanzanian company and its Delaware-based parent company Pula Group.

It was launched late last year, and a ruling is expected in February next year.

The case has inflamed discussions of resource nationalism in Tanzania, where the overwhelming majority of mines are owned and run by foreigners.

Pula Graphite is a Tanzanian-registered company with substantial local shareholding.

The respondents are Patrice Motsepe and the companies in which he is involved: ARM, African Rainbow Capital and Arch Sustainable Resource GPCo.