COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Transnet and Botswana join forces
South Africa and Botswana have agreed to collaborate to fix and expand rail infrastructure beneficial to both countries.
In a statement released on Friday, Transnet said South Africa and Botswana have agreed in principle on joint development initiatives to be implemented by their respective rail operators in a bid to improve inter-trade between the two countries.
The initiatives will also allow landlocked, and coal-rich, Botswana to access South African ports in a more efficient manner.
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Botswana Rail (BR) will collaborate to fix parts of the 126km rail line between Swartruggens and Mafikeng, which will enable heavy-haul trains travelling from Botswana to reach the ports of Richards Bay and Durban for export markets.
"This will be funded jointly by the two governments, with TFR and BR given the responsibility to implement the initiative. The objective is to have the project running in the next 24 months," Transnet said in a statement. -Fin24
Sasol's gas price increases under the spotlight
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will look into concerns raised by multiple stakeholders about "excessive" gas price increases announced by one of its licensees, Sasol Gas.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Nersa said it had not approved "such increases". The country's piped gas industry is regulated by Nersa in terms of the Gas Act.
Nersa's pricing methodology is being legally challenged by the Industrial Gas Users Association - Southern Africa (IGUA-SA), whose members include steelmaker ArcelorMittal and packaging company Nampak. IGUA-SA contends that the methodology used by Nersa will benefit Sasol Gas, which is the monopoly natural gas supplier in the country.
IGUA-SA raised concerns that gas prices would increase 220%, Fin24 previously reported.
In its statement, Nersa said that in March 2021 it had approved maximum gas prices for Sasol Gas. According to Nersa, it ensured that margins would be kept at a “reasonable” level.
"The maximum price envisaged by the Methodology to Approve Maximum Price of Gas in South Africa is well below R100 per gigajoule (GJ), from which the licensee (Sasol Gas) was expected to discount," the statement read. -Fin24
Twitter says Musk making up excuses
Twitter said the notion Elon Musk was "hoodwinked" into inking a $44 billion buyout deal defies reason and the facts.
In a filing, Twitter rejected counter claims made by Musk as he fights to walk away from the deal he inked in April to buy the San Francisco-based company.
"According to Musk, he - the billionaire founder of multiple companies, advised by Wall Street bankers and lawyers - was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a US$44 billion merger agreement," Twitter said.
"That story is as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds."
Musk last week filed a countersuit along with a legal defence against Twitter's claim that the billionaire is contractually bound to complete the takeover deal.
"The counterclaims are a made-for-litigation tale that is contradicted by the evidence and common sense," Twitter argued in the filing.
A five-day trial that will consider Twitter's lawsuit against Musk has been scheduled for October 17.-Fin24
Facebook's Meta takes on bond debt
Facebook-owner Meta is ending a run as one of the few major firms without debt, launching its first bond sale as the company battles uncertainty and bets heavily on its metaverse vision.
Worries over the social media giant's future and fierce competition from TikTok have sent its stock plummeting, while the firm spends billions on its plan for the internet's next iteration.
Meta reported to the US markets watchdog on Thursday that it has begun offering bonds to raise money for uses such as "capital expenditures, repurchases of outstanding shares of its common stock, acquisitions, or investments."
The firm, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, declined to comment beyond its filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Its filing does not indicate the amount of funds it wants to raise, nor the term of the bonds, but Bloomberg news agency reported Meta may sell $8-10 billion in debt.
Last week, Meta reported its first year-on-year drop in quarterly revenue, and its net profit dropped 36 percent to US$6.7 billion.-Fin24