Canal+ Regulatory News (CAN)

8 May 2008 07:01

Central African Gold PLC08 May 2008 Central African Gold Plc / Ticker: CAN / Market: AIM / Sub-sector: Gold Mining 8 May 2008 Central African Gold Plc ("CAG" or the "Company") Board Appointments Central African Gold Plc, the AIM traded gold mining and exploration company, ispleased to announce the appointment of the following Non-Executive Directors tothe Board with immediate effect: • Mr Roy Lander as Non-Executive Chairman; • Mr David Glennie as Non-Executive Director; and • Mr Thomas Gibian as Non-Executive Director and representative for Emerging Capital Partners LLC ("ECP"), a substantial shareholder in CAG (with Mr Navaid Burney periodically attending as his alternate). The appointments are part of the Company's strategy of assembling a board withthe relevant experience and contacts to advance its existing gold production andexploration assets in Ghana, Mali, Zimbabwe and Botswana and explore newopportunities across Africa. Greg Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of CAG, said, "In order to take the Companyforward we understood the need to build a first rate team with a widecross-section of expertise and a proven track record. Roy, David, Tom andNavaid fulfil these criteria, complement our existing team and will, we believe,help us realise our ambitions of building CAG into a leading mid-tier goldcompany focused in Africa. They all have experience of the financial marketsand importantly, have strong relationships within the African resource sector,which will help us as we look to acquire further projects to strengthen ourportfolio of gold assets across Africa." Mr Roy Pascoe Lander joined Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Limitedas a management trainee. He worked primarily in Zimbabwe and became Chairman andChief Executive of the Corporation in Zimbabwe for over 10 years, managing itsmining interests including those in chrome, coal, copper, gold, and nickel. Roywas also a director of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines during the periodimmediately prior to privatisation. He was President of the Chamber of Mines inZimbabwe in the period immediately after independence in the early 1980's. Inaddition, Roy was a Non-executive Director of African Platinum Plc, which wasacquired by Impala Platinum Holdings Limited, a world leading platinum groupmetals producer in June 2007. Mr David George Glennie is Managing Partner of the European office of Blake,Cassels and Graydon LLP, a leading Canadian law firm. His primary focus is oninternational corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, with particularemphasis on natural resources, having worked on numerous major transactions,including Lonmin Plc's $263 million takeover of Southern Platinum Corp and C$475million take-over of AfriOre Limited., Vodafone Plc's $4.5 billion acquisitionof Telesystems International Wireless Inc., EuroZinc Mining's €128 millionacquisition of the Neves Corvo copper mine in Portugal, CAG's $40 millionacquisition of the Bibiani Gold Mine in Ghana from Anglo Gold Ashanti, andBilliton plc's C$1.7 billion acquisition of Rio Algom Ltd. In addition, Davidhas been named one of the world's leading mining lawyers in The InternationalWho's Who of Mining Lawyers 2008. Mr Thomas Richard Gibian has extensive experience of the financial and fundmanagement sectors. He is currently the CEO of ECP, which spun out of EmergingMarkets Partnership ("EMP") in 2005. ECP actively manages six funds totallingover $1.2 billion and has been rated as the largest private equity fund managerfocused on Pan African businesses. Prior to becoming a founding partner at ECP,Mr. Gibian was a managing director at EMP Global, which managed the AIG AfricanInfrastructure Fund, a $406 million pan-African private equity fund. Inaddition, he was formerly the Co-Head of Structured Finance for the Asia-Pacificregion at Goldman Sachs and began his career in 1983 at Salomon Brothers. He hasalso held directorships for various leading private and listed companies,including the NYSE-listed Ashanti Goldfields; NASDAQ-listed InterwaveCommunications and privately held Celtel International, and Orascom TelecomAlgeria. It is anticipated that Mr Gibian may not be available to attend all CAG Boardmeetings. He has therefore agreed with the Company to appoint Mr Navaid Burney,also of ECP, as his alternate at any Board meetings which he himself is unableto attend. Mr Navaid Burney, a Managing Director of ECP, has a wealth of experiencemanaging private equity funds and overseeing investment banking activities. ECPmanages over $1.2 billion in private equity funds in Africa and its pan Africanfunds have performed in the top quartile of all emerging market funds. Mr.Burney has sourced over $260 million in equity/quasi-equity transactions in theresource, financial services, energy and manufacturing sectors and serves on theboard of Starcomms Plc, Notore Chemical Industries, Ocean and Oil Investments aswell as the African Venture Capital Association. Previously he held theposition of General Manager at First Merchant Bank of Zimbabwe Ltd, where he wasresponsible for developing and marketing advisory and capital markets products.In addition, he has held other corporate financier roles for companies such asInternational Finance Corporation and Union Carbide Corporation based in theUSA, where the positions required a detailed knowledge of the mining industry,financial analysis and deal structuring. Mr Lander, aged 72, is a director or has been a director of the followingcompanies during the previous five years: Current Directorships or partnerships Past Directorships held within the last five years African Platinum Plc Mr Glennie, aged 53, is a director or has been a director of the followingcompanies during the previous five years: Current Directorships or partnerships Past Directorships held within the last five years Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Mr Gibian, aged 54, is a director or has been a director of the followingcompanies during the previous five years: Current Directorships or partnerships Past Directorships held within the last five years Emerging Capital Partners LLC Ashanti Goldfields CorporationECP Manager LP Interwave Communications Inc.Lifetree Convergence Ltd Celtel International BVIntercontinental Bank Plc Orascom Telecom Algeria Ltd Mr Burney, aged 47, is a director or has been a director of the followingcompanies during the previous five years: Current Directorships or partnerships Past Directorships held within the last five years Black Ibis Ltd Africa Media Group LtdDe Rust Olive Estates (Pty) LtdEmerging Capital Partners LLC ECP Logistics (Pty) LtdMoody Blue Trade and Invest 30 (Pty) LtdNotore Chemical Industries (Mauritius) LtdOcean and Oil Investments (Mauritius) LtdSN Communications Holdings Ltd The Directors' interests in the existing issued share capital of the Company areas follows:Director Total number of Ordinary % of issued share capital of the Shares CompanyRoy Lander - -David Glennie - -Tom Gibian* 30,600,000 18.38Navaid Burney* 30,600,000 18.38 * Ordinary shares held indirectly through ECP Further, for their services, Mr Lander and Mr Glennie have been issued 750,000and 500,000 options respectively to subscribe for ordinary share of 0.5p each inthe Company ("Ordinary Share"). Under the terms of the options, each option isconvertible into one Ordinary Share at an exercise price of 32.75p per share,vesting over three years in equal tranches from the date of grant, with eachtranche exercisable within five years of vesting. There are no other matters which are required to be announced with regard tothis appointment under paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules. * * ENDS * * For further information please visit www.centralafricangold.com or contact: Central African Gold PlcGreg Hunter/ Nicole Broome Tel: +27 (0) 11 676 2500 In London:St Brides Media & Finance LtdHugo de Salis/ Felicity Edwards Tel: +44 (0) 20 7 236 1177 Strand Partners LimitedSimon Raggett / Braden Saunders Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 RBC Capital MarketsMartin Eales/ Andrew Smith Tel: +44 (0) 20 7029 7881 In South Africa:Russell and AssociatesCharmane Russell Tel: + 27 (0) 11 880 3924 Notes to Editors: Central African Gold Plc, admitted to AIM in April 2004, was established toacquire gold assets with a geographical focus on Africa. The Company hasestablished a sound portfolio with projects in Ghana, Mali, Zimbabwe andBotswana. It has a highly experienced management team, which has worked togetherfor four years managing six underground greenstone gold mining operations andbuilding exploration portfolios. CAG's portfolio includes the developing of Bibiani gold mine and two prospectinglicences in Ghana, which it acquired from AngloGold Ashanti Limited, twoventures in Mali covering 17 prospective permits and a licence in Botswanacovering the extension of the Kraaipan greenstone belt from South Africa. CAGacquired five mines and extensive exploration properties in Zimbabwe during2007. The management team is evaluating additional prospects in Africa toestablish CAG as a leading mid-tier African gold producer with world classexploration and production assets. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange