The eventual size of Sasol’s possible rights issue – tentatively capped at $2-billion – will depend on progress the group makes in the coming months with its cash-conservation and asset-disposal programmes, initiated in an effort to reduce its $10-billion debt burden by $6-billion by the end of its 2021 financial year. The prospect of an equity raise was included as part of a package of measures unveiled by the JSE-listed company on Tuesday in response to what CEO Fleetwood Grobler described as “unprecedented macroeconomic challenges”, which had arisen at a time when the chemicals and energy group was at peak gearing levels.
