Freeport’s $2.65 Billion Sale of Tenke Mine Stake Is Credit Positive
On Monday, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (B1 negative) said that it agreed to sell its interest in the Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo to China Molybdenum Co. Ltd. (CMOC, unrated) for $2.65 billion in cash. Freeport’s sale of its stake in the mine is credit positive and in line with the company’s plan to repay debt and improve its capital structure through asset sales. This transaction, in combination with other pending deals, should result in total asset sales topping $3 billion by the end of 2016. That should allow Freeport to avoid triggering a springing lien that would require it to provide collateral securing its $3.5 billion revolving credit line. We estimate that including the announced transactions, Freeport can improve its leverage to around 5x debt/EBITDA by year-end 2016 from 6.4x at year-end 2015 and our earlier forecast of 6.0x over the next 12- 18 months. Should the company’s leverage trend toward 5x, we could change the outlook to stable. So far in 2016, Freeport has announced the sale of an additional 13% interest in its Morenci mine in Arizona to its joint venture partner Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (unrated) for $1 billion in cash, as well as several smaller sales totaling $400 million. In all, these sales should allow Freeport to meet the requirement in its revolving credit facility. On top of the asset sales, Freeport put in place ongoing cost-saving measures, idled some higher-cost mines, particularly those with molybdenum by-products, and reduced capital expenditures to cope with severe declines in the price of copper and oil. Although Tenke is competitive from a cash-cost perspective, Freeport’s mines in North and South America and Indonesia remain the drivers of production, revenue and earnings. Tenke’s copper sales in 2015 were roughly 467 million pounds, or about 11% of consolidated volumes, while its EBITDA contribution was less than 15%. In light of increased volumes from Freeport’s Cerro Verde mine in Peru after its expansion, along with favorable cost positions at the remaining mines, we expect the loss of Tenke’s EBITDA not to materially alter the company’s production or earnings. Meanwhile, using the Tenke sale proceeds to reduce debt will help strengthen the balance sheet and overall financial profile. The company expects to close the transaction by December and will receive additional contingent consideration depending on average copper and cobalt prices in 2018 and 2019. Freeport also said that it would negotiate with CMOC exclusively for the sale of its interests in Freeport Cobalt and the Kisanfu Exploration project, also in Congo.