World’s third largest platinum producer Lonmin, announced on Friday December 10, 2015, it failed to raise the $400 million it intended to by issuing 27 billion new shares at a nominal value of $0.01 per share. Despite being supported by shareholder Public Investment Corporation, the company sold only 17 billion of its new shares.

Lonmin previously said that it needed to successfully raise this amount to pay its debt which is due for May 2016. “If we reach that level, the group will stop trading some of its shares starting from December, and this could translate into a loss in value of investors’ input,” the firm said upon issue.

The group’s top brass affirmed they would work toward collecting the missing sum (in the $400 million) by selling the remaining 8 billion shares to other investors. Easier said than done considering how shareholders were expressly told to stop investing in a company which was no more generating profit.

On December 10, Lonmin recorded a 9.1% fall on Johannesburg Stock Exchange where it is listed.

Idriss Linge