Patrice Motsepe - Keep Informed Africa

Patrice Motsepe still faces $195 million Tanzania claim

siteadmin — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:33:55 +0000

Pula Group says a Tanzanian court did not throw out its $195 million claim against Patrice Motsepe's companies, disputing African Rainbow Minerals' account. Pula Group, the mining company suing South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and his companies for $195 million in Tanzania, has rejected African Rainbow Minerals Ltd.'s account of a court ruling this month, saying its claim has not been thrown out. ARM announced on October 14 that Tanzania's High Court had struck out Pula's case against Motsepe, ARM, African Rainbow Capital Investments and ARCH Sustainable Resources in a ruling dated Oct. 9. The Johannesburg-listed miner said it welcomed the judgment and had always regarded the claim, worth about 3.2 billion rand, as "unfounded and fabricated." "What the court struck out was Pula's application for a default judgment against ARM, Motsepe and ARCH, and it did so because Pula had not joined other parties the court considers necessary to the case. The judge did not decide whether Motsepe's companies broke any agreement." A graphite dispute Pula sued in 2023, accusing Motsepe's companies of breaking a confidentiality and non-compete agreement. It says it shared information about its graphite project in Tanzania's Lindi region with ARM in 2019, when ARM was weighing an investment. ARM did not invest. Pula says Motsepe's companies later put money into Evolution, an Australian company whose Chilalo graphite project sits next to Pula's. Its $195 million claim is based on a valuation of its project, and Stith has said damages could end up higher. Motsepe and his companies have denied the claims throughout. In April, a Gauteng High Court judge in Johannesburg ruled that African Rainbow Capital was not a party to the 2019 nondisclosure agreement, which was signed with ARM alone. Pula dropped its appeal against that decision in July, making the ruling final. Other legal fights ARM is also fighting a separate case at home. Assore Ltd., its equal partner in the Assmang iron ore and manganese joint venture, has sued ARM over control of the business, including the right to appoint executives. ARM says those claims have no merit. Motsepe, 64, founded ARM after buying underperforming gold mine shafts in 1997 and built it into a diversified miner with interests in iron ore, manganese, platinum group metals, chrome, nickel, coal and gold. He owns about 43% of the company, a stake worth about $781 million. Forbes valued his fortune at $3.5 billion in July. He is also president of the Confederation of African Football and owns the Mamelodi Sundowns soccer club.

Patrice Motsepe says his current CAF term will be his last

Staff Reporter — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:21:25 +0000

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe has confirmed he will step down as president of the Confederation of African Football when his term ends, opening the door to a succession race for one of the most powerful jobs in world soccer. Motsepe made the commitment at a press conference during CAF's strategy conference in Cape Verde. He said his priority for the rest of his tenure is to build structures that allow African football to keep growing after he leaves. His second four-year term runs until 2029. He was first elected on March 12, 2021, after the other four candidates withdrew, and was re-elected unopposed on March 12, 2025. The Cape Verde remarks repeat a pledge Motsepe made in July, when he told reporters in Sandton, Johannesburg, that "nobody is going to persuade me to spend more than two terms as CAF president." At the same press conference he ruled out running for the presidency of FIFA, soccer's world governing body, and said he backs its president, Gianni Infantino. "Fifa doesn't need me," he said. A biennial AFCON At the Cape Verde conference, Motsepe also said CAF is considering keeping the Africa Cup of Nations as a tournament held every two years, with discussions under way to reverse a proposed move to a four-year cycle. He has said one of his goals is for an African country to win the World Cup. The history behind the mining billionaire in football Motsepe, 64, made his fortune in mining. He founded African Rainbow Minerals, the Johannesburg-listed company with interests in platinum, iron ore, manganese, coal and gold, and is its executive chairman. He also chairs Ubuntu-Botho Investments, which holds a large stake in insurer Sanlam. He bought Mamelodi Sundowns in 2003 and turned the Pretoria club into one of the dominant teams in African football. His son Tlhopie Motsepe is now the club's president. He was the first Black African to appear on Forbes' list of the world's billionaires, in 2008. His brother-in-law is South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is married to Motsepe's sister, Tshepo. CAF has 54 member associations and organizes the Africa Cup of Nations and the Champions League. Motsepe's predecessor, Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar, was banned by FIFA's ethics committee in 2020 over misuse of funds, and Motsepe came to the job promising to clean up the organization's finances.

Patrice Motsepe’s firm to hold 78% of Alexander Forbes

Staff Reporter — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:48:38 +0000

A firm linked to billionaire Patrice Motsepe is consolidating control of Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Ltd. through a deal that will see US financial-services giant Prudential Financial Inc. exit its investment in South Africa’s biggest standalone retirement-fund administrator. In a statement released on Friday, it said that the transaction will see ARC AF Holdings (RF) Pty Ltd., which is linked to Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, ultimately raise its stake in the financial-services firm to 77.94%. "It currently holds a 49.88% interest in the company. Alexander Forbes shares jumped as much as 9.4% to their highest intraday level since March 2025, before paring gains to 6.5% as of 10h13 in Johannesburg. The advance lifted the company’s market value to about R9.4 billion ($580 million)." "Prudential first acquired a stake in Alexander Forbes in 2022. Bloomberg reported in December that Prudential was considering a sale. Financial services and fintech are a key part of African Rainbow Capital’s strategy, with the firm saying in 2024 that it plans to increase exposure to the sector. Besides a holding in Alexander Forbes, it has interests in the continent’s biggest insurer, Sanlam Ltd. and Tyme Group, the digital banking company that owns operations in South Africa and the Philippines." On other separate matters, Motsepe’s ARC will buy New Veld’s remaining 74.1 million Alex Forbes shares directly. Alexander Forbes will finance the buyback with cash resources and a R2.1 billion loan. The deal is subject to conditions, including shareholders’ approval of the stock repurchase.