TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The new board of Vancouver-based Eastern Platinum on Friday announced that it was reviewing a transaction in which the previous board and management bought out the minority interests in all the company's assets.
The newly reconstituted board, proposed by Hong Kong-based activist shareholder Ka An Development was formed on Tuesday following a shareholder meeting, and advised that it would be reviewing the company's current care-and-maintenance programme and its potential strategic alternatives, including the proposed sale of subsidiary Barplats Mines, which held the Crocodile river Mine (CRM), in South Africa.
Under previous management, TSX- and JSE-listed Eastplats announced last week that it would sell Barplats to Chinese company Hebei Zhongheng Tianda Platinum for $50-million. As part of that agreement, Eastplats on Monday advised that it was required to buy out certain minority interests in its assets for $13.37-million.
On Friday, new management advised that, on Wednesday, the new board and management appointees found that the minority-interest acquisition had been completed and that certain minority interests totalling about $13.37-million had been paid out.
“The company is reviewing the acquisition, the payment to certain minority interests and all related transactions conducted by former management of the company and will update shareholders of Eastplats in due course,” Eastplats stated Friday.
It added that it was trying to gain access to the books and records of the company, the company website and all documentation relating to the acquisition.