PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The directors of ASX-listed Bligh Resources have withdrawn their support of a bid by gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings to acquire the Bundarra gold project, in Western Australia, after shareholder Zeta Resources increased its offer price.
Zeta has increased its intended off-market takeover offer for Bligh shares from 3.5c a share to 3.8c a share, implying a market cap for Bligh of about A$8.8-million.
The increased offer comes just days after Saracen amended its original offer for the Bundarra gold project in an effort to combat the takeover offer from Zeta.
Saracen initially offered Bligh shareholders A$8.5-million in its own shares, but this week amended the terms of its Bundarra offer, agreeing to issue Bligh some 71.4-million shares at settlement of the transaction. If the value of those shares - determined by multiplying the number of shares to the volume-weighted average price of Saracen’s shares over the five days ending on the trading day before the date of settlement - is less than A$9-million, the gold miner will pay the difference.
If the value of the shares is determined to be greater than A$9-million at the time of settlement, no additional amount will be paid.
Bligh on Wednesday told shareholders that the increased offer from Zeta was superior to the Saracen proposal, urging shareholders who wished to accept the Zeta offer to vote against the sale of the Bundarra gold project at the company’s general meeting on May 3, as this was a defeating condition of the Zeta offer.
Saracen earlier this week said that its revised proposal for the Bundarra project would be its last and final offer.