Billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s ARM stake rises to $858m

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s stake in African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. rose to about R14.2 billion ($858 million) on Monday after shares of the diversified miner he founded and chairs jumped 4.8% on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

ARM closed at R158.25 on Nov. 9, up from about R151 at the end of the previous session. The gain added roughly R650 million ($39 million) to the value of Motsepe’s holding in one day and lifted the company’s market value to about R33 billion ($2 billion).

Motsepe holds his ARM shares through African Rainbow Minerals & Exploration Investments, the Motsepe family vehicle that is the company’s largest shareholder with 43.13% of its 208.7 million issued shares, or about 90 million shares. The ARM Broad-Based Economic Empowerment Trust owns 7.62%, and the Government Employees Pension Fund, South Africa’s state pension fund, holds 6.2%.

At Monday’s close, the Motsepe family stake was worth about three times the holding of the next two largest shareholders combined.

The rally extends a recovery in ARM’s stock. The shares traded at R147.77 on Oct. 13, meaning they have gained about 7% in less than a month.

ARM is one of South Africa’s biggest black-controlled mining groups. It mines iron ore and manganese through Assmang, its joint venture with Assore, and produces platinum group metals, chrome, coal and nickel. It also holds a stake in gold producer Harmony Gold Mining Co.

The company was formed in 2004 when Motsepe’s mining business merged with Anglovaal Mining, creating a black-controlled diversified miner listed in Johannesburg. Motsepe, a former lawyer, had started in the industry in the 1990s by buying low-producing gold shafts and turning them into profitable mines. He built that business into ARMgold, which later merged with Harmony.

Victor Tobias is ARM’s chief executive and Tsundzukani Mhlanga is finance director. Motsepe has been chairman since the 2004 merger.

Outside mining, Motsepe, 64, is president of the Confederation of African Football and owns Mamelodi Sundowns, one of Africa’s most successful football clubs. He also founded African Rainbow Capital, an investment group with interests in financial services, telecommunications and other sectors.

Motsepe, who in 2013 became the first African to sign the Giving Pledge, is the brother-in-law of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Forbes lists him among Africa’s billionaires, with ARM as the main source of his fortune.

Figures were converted at R16.6 to the dollar.