JOHANNESBURG, Dec 14 (Reuters) - South Africa's PublicInvestment Corporation (PIC) has increased its stake in platinumproducer Lonmin to almost 30 percent after buying moreshares via the company's rights issue.
The PIC, which manages South African government employeeretirement funds, now own 29.99 percent of miner, up from 7percent, Lonmin said on Monday.
Bruised by strikes, rising costs, a weak platinum price andslowing demand, South Africa-focused Lonmin also saidit planned to raise another $370 million in loans to refinancedebt currently due in May 2016.
Lonmin said on Friday that its deeply discounted $400million rights issue was undersubscribed, after its shareholdersonly bought 19.2 billion shares, or 71 percent, of its proposed27 billion share issue.
The outcome allowed PIC to increase its stake in the companyafter it had sub-underwritten a material portion of the issue,over and above its entitlement.
The undersubscribed rights issue also forced underwriters,HSBC, J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Standard Bank, to take up sharesin the company.
Lonmin's shareholders approved the share issue last monthafter the company warned that if it could not raise the cashtrading in its shares could be suspended.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, editing by LouiseHeavens)