By Carli Lourens Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Anglo Platinum Ltd., the mining company that accounts for more than a third of global production of the metal, said it plans to reduce debt with a 12.5 billion rand ($1.6 billion) rights offer. The shares rose. Johannesburg-based Anglo Platinum will offer 24.9 million shares to shareholders at 502.18 rand per share, the company said in a statement to the city’s stock exchange today. Anglo American Plc owns about 80 percent of the producer. Anglo Platinum’s net debt soared to a record 19.3 billion rand last year after prices for the metal plummeted. The global recession cut demand for platinum, used in vehicle emissions systems and jewelry. Chief Executive Officer Neville Nicolau cut 18,786 jobs and idled three operations to stem rising debt. Shares in Anglo Platinum gained as much as 5.7 percent to 727.24 rand in Johannesburg. A close at that price would be the biggest gain since Aug. 3. “Everything seems to be on track for getting this company back into shape,” Leon Esterhuizen, an analyst with RBC Capital Marekts, said by phone from London. “It probably won’t be in the next six months, but it’s getting there.” Demand for the metal will probably rise this year and may trade at about $1,500 an ounce, Nicolau said. Platinum lost as much as two-thirds of its value in 2008 and is trading a third lower than the $2,301.50 an ounce record reached in March 2008. Earlier, Anglo Platinum said net income fell to 3.01 billion rand in 2009 from 14.2 billion rand a year earlier. The company met its own production forecast of 2.4 million ounces of refined platinum, it said. Rising Production Anglo Platinum plans to produce more of the metal with fewer employees, helping to keep costs below 2008 levels for the next three years, it said in July. It may produce about 2.5 million ounces annually for the three years from 2010. The Anglo American platinum unit was the third-biggest contributor to the parent’s operating profit in 2008, after its ferrous-metals and base-metals businesses. Anglo American will take up its rights allocation and underwrite the offer to minorities, the company said in a separate statement. “That’s a fairly clear indication by Anglo American that they have no intention to dilute their stake,” Esterhuizen said. “That’s a good tick in the box for Anglo Platinum.” To contact the reporter on this story: Carli Lourens in Johannesburg at clourens@bloomberg.net

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