Photo by: Bloomberg
As ASX- and TSX-listed Perseus Mining’s takeover of ASX-listed OreCorp gains pace, TSX-listed Silvercorp Metals has accepted the offer to sell its 73.8-million OreCorp shares to Perseus.
Silvercorp, which has been a rival bidder for OreCorp, has agreed to sell its 15.6% shareholding in OreCorp to Perseus. This takes Perseus’ interest in OreCorp to just under 75%.
Silvercorp originally made an offer of A$0.53 to acquire all of the OreCorp shares it did not already own, but Perseus’ amended and final offer was deemed to be the superior offer by the OreCorp board.
Perseus had a relevant interest in 239-million OreCorp shares, or 51.03% ownership, prior to Silvercorp’s acceptance.
Perseus’ offer to acquire the remainder of the shares it does not own in OreCorp at an offer consideration of A$0.575 apiece remains unconditional and open until April 19, unless it is extended.
OreCorp has once again urged shareholders to accept the Perseus offer.
OreCorp is already actively working with Perseus to transition the OreCorp board and management team in respect of the takeover.
Perseus intends to appoint its MD and CEO Jeff Quartermaine and CFO Lee-Anne de Bruin to the OreCorp board.
In conjunction with these appointments, several of the current OreCorp board members will step down. Eventually, the majority of directors on the OreCorp board will be Perseus nominees.
Once the deal closes, Perseus will gain control of OreCorp’s Nyanzaga project, in Tanzania, which has an estimated capital cost of $474-million. The project is poised to produce about 242 000 oz of gold over its first decade of operation.