PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed White Rock Minerals on Thursday announced plans to acquire fellow listed AuStar Gold, offering shareholders 0.78 White Rock shares for every AuStar share held.

The offer implied a price of 43.5c each for AuStar’s shared, representing a premium of 47% on AuStar’s last trading price and a 56% premium to the company’s one-month volume weighted average share price.

The merged group would retain the name White Rock Minerals and would be a diversified gold explorer and producer, with assets in the Walhalla-Woods Point gold belt, in Victoria, the Red Mountain silver/zinc/gold project in Alaska, and the Last Chance and Mount Carrington projects in New South Wales.

AuStar director Paul McNally said on Wednesday that the transaction would deliver a certain path forward to accelerate activity at the company’s Victorian gold tenements, as well as the benefit of exposure to White Rock’s high-potential exploration and development assets in Alaska and New South Wales.

He pointed out that the merged group would have a larger and more diverse asset portfolio, and would benefit from an enlarged technical and management team with both domestic and international expertise. The merged group’s enhanced balance sheet is also expected to support the development of the Morning Star gold mine, along with both the in-mine and regional exploration programmes.

White Rock chairperson Peter Lester told shareholders that the company was delighted with the prospect of adding high potential Victorian gold exploration, including a modest production base, in one of Victoria’s most prolific historical gold production regions, to its portfolio.

“With the Morning Star mine and processing plant in place, AuStar will also move White Rock closer to being a producer and open up exposure to the growing Victorian exploration and mining scene, which has enjoyed a considerable resurgence in recent times.

“The combination of our two companies and the pursuit of new opportunities in Victoria will add to the 2021 programmes already in place for White Rock’s existing assets in Alaska, and provide greater opportunity for growth for both groups of shareholders.”

AuStar shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction at a shareholder meeting expected in mid-May.