African Rainbow Capital (ARC), the investment company founded by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, has secured a major legal victory after the Johannesburg High Court ruled that it cannot be held liable for breaching a confidentiality agreement it never signed.
The ruling could significantly weaken a $195 million (3.2 billion rand) damages claim brought by U.S.-based Pula Group in Tanzania over a disputed graphite project, BillioniaresAfrica reported.
The case stems from a confidentiality agreement signed in 2019 between Pula Group and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), the mining company chaired by Motsepe, during discussions over a potential investment in Pula's graphite project in southeastern Tanzania.
Pula claims it shared proprietary technical information that was later used by ARCH Sustainable Resources Fund—an ARC-linked investment vehicle—to back Australian-listed Evolution Energy Minerals, owner of the nearby Chilalo graphite project.
The company sued African Rainbow Minerals, ARC, Motsepe personally and other related entities in Tanzania in 2023, alleging the confidential information gave Evolution an unfair competitive advantage.
