Canadian mineral exploration and development companies Vizsla Copper and Universal Copper have completed a merger arrangement whereby Vizsla acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of Universal in exchange for the issuance of 0.23 common shares in the capital of Vizsla to shareholders of Universal in exchange for each Universal share.

Also, Universal’s outstanding stock options were exchanged for options of Vizsla, and Universal’s outstanding warrants became exercisable to acquire Vizsla shares, in amounts and at exercise prices adjusted in accordance with the exchange ratio.

On April 16, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued the final order to approve the merger. The arrangement received the requisite approval of Universal security holders as well at a special meeting held on April 10.

“The closing of this transaction is very timely, with the copper market now in structural undersupply. Demand is increasing, driven by new infrastructure needed for electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and cloud storage requirements and on the supply side, we have seen reductions in production rather than expected increases.

"This has led to certain analyst predictions that the copper price will be $6/lb or more in the near term. There has never been a better time to acquire and advance copper projects in a mining-friendly jurisdiction like British Columbia,” Vizsla executive chairperson Craig Parry said on April 18.

He noted that Vizsla was now uniquely positioned with two significant copper resource bases at the Woodjam and Poplar projects in Canada.

“The Vizsla Copper team is excited to begin its work on the large, highly-prospective Poplar project, which contains a large, near-surface porphyry-related copper/gold deposit. We look forward to unlocking additional value at both Poplar and Woodjam,” Parry said.

“This merger is a strategic alignment of our assets and visions, designed to accelerate growth and capitalise on our synergies. The . . . support from our shareholders reflects their confidence in the potential of this combined entity to lead and innovate in the copper industry,” Universal CEO Clive Massey added.