JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Contract mining and equipment group Eqstra on Thursday posted its final-offer circular to shareholders of civil engineering group Protech Khuthele to acquire the remaining 67.2% Protech stake it did not already own, at 60c a share in cash.

On the assumption that all Protech shareholders accepted the offer in respect of all of their Protech shares, the maximum aggregate value of the consideration payable by Eqstra to Protech shareholders would be R146.22-million.

The offer valued the entire issued ordinary share capital of Protech, including the Protech shares held by Eqstra, at R217.5-million, on the basis of a total of 362.5-million Protech shares in issue.

A spokesperson for the company, Johannes van Niekerk, said the offer was fair and compelling, as it was at a premium of 40.7% on the 90-day volume-weighted average traded price of Protech shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on December 4, the day before Eqstra initially made its offer.

Eqstra CEO Walter Hill said the offer would provide Protech shareholders with an attractive cash price to realise fair value at a healthy premium.

“Our offer positions Protech appropriately to benefit from the synergies and economies of scale that can be achieved by sharing resources between Eqstra and Protech, for example in short-term plant rental, the development of infrastructure and smaller-scale mining-related activity,” he indicated.

Hill added that, with Eqstra’s access to funding at more competitive rates, Protech would be better positioned to compete for business and achieve optimal returns.

“This has been a protracted and frustrating process and I hope we can bring our offer to a swift and friendly conclusion,” Hill noted.

Eqstra currently owned a 32.8% interest in Protech and had secured irrevocable undertakings in support of the offer for an additional 30.3% stake.

The offer would open on February 22 and would close on July 26.