PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Suitor Nordgold’s unconditional on-market takeover offer for ASX-listed Cardinal Resources opened on Thursday, with the company urging Cardinal shareholders to carefully consider the offer.
The board of Cardinal Resources has backed a rival offer from Shandong Gold mining, which is offering shareholders 70c in cash for each share not already owned.
The Shandong offer was subject to a 50.1% minimum acceptance condition and Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval, with Chinese regulatory approvals already granted.
Nordgold for its part was offering Cardinal shareholders 66c a share in cash for each share held.
However, Nordgold, which already holds an 18.71% interest in Cardinal, on Thursday argued that Cardinal shareholders who accepted its offer would receive their full cash consideration within two business days, and that the company had already secured FIRB approval to proceed with the offer.
The FIRB has publicly warned that the timeframe for applications could range anywhere from 30 days up to six months as temporary measures were implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen the monetary screening threshold for foreign investment reduce to A$0.
Cardinal previously told shareholders that there was no reason to believe that the minimum acceptance condition and FIRB approval for the Shandong Gold offer could not be satisfied ‘within a reasonable timeframe’.
Nordgold’s bid for Cardinal is expected to close on August 31, with Shandong Gold expected to lodge its bidder’s statement on August 13.