Photo by: Duane Daws
LONDON – Vitol SA has reached an agreement with a company in which a stake is held by the Gupta family, who are friends of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, for the right to export coal from South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
The deal between Vitol and Tegeta Exploration and Resources Ltd. has closed, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. The Gupta’s Oakbay Investments owns 29% of Tegeta.
The family and Zuma’s son, Duduzane, bought Optimum Coal Holdings Ltd. through Tegeta for 2.15 billion rand ($152 million) from Glencore Plc in December. As a shareholder of the terminal, along with Anglo American Plc, Glencore, and South32 Ltd., Tegeta’s Optimum has a right to ship about 8 million metric tons of the fuel from South Africa annually.
“We are unaware that a deal has been concluded” between Vitol and Tegeta, RBCT spokeswoman Nontuthuko Mgabhi said by phone.