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EBX to offer C$1 bln for shares it does not own
* All-cash deal gives 26 pct premium over Tuesday close
* Ventana owns La Bodega gold project in Colombia
* Shares up 37 percent at C$13.68
(Recasts, in U.S. dollars unless noted)
By Pav Jordan and Julie Gordon
TORONTO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Canada's Ventana Gold (VEN.TO: Quote), a junior miner in the vanguard of an exploration rush in Colombia, has fielded a buyout offer from its top shareholder that values the company at about C$1.5 billion ($1.47 billion).
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EBX, owned by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, said on Wednesday it plans to make a formal offer to buy the Ventana shares it does not already own for C$12.63 each. EBX currently has a stake of about 20 percent.
The offer values the total equity of Ventana at about C$1.5 billion on a fully diluted basis, EBX said, without providing further details.
Vancouver-based Ventana's flagship project is the La Bodega property in Colombia. The company expects the mine to produce 347,000 gold equivalent ounces a year, at cash costs of $322 an ounce.
Ventana shares jumped after the news, rising 36 percent in Toronto to C$13.65 by early afternoon as investors bet a higher bid could eventually emerge. Shares of other companies exploring for gold near the Ventana property also rose.
With the price of gold near record highs, M&A activity is expected to build among miners operating in Colombia and elsewhere.
"It's a continuation of mergers and acquisitions we've seen in the past," said Joe Overdevest, a fund manager at Fidelity Management, which owns a 3 percent stake in Ventana. "There's more mergers and acquisitions we expect to happen within the natural resources space."
Ventana said in a statement it has begun the process of engaging advisers to help it respond to the bid.
EBX said the offer was subject to conditions, including a requirement that more than two-thirds of Ventana shares to be tendered.
"The offer will be fully funded and provides Ventana's shareholders with immediate liquidity and certainty of value regarding Ventana's growth potential in the face of volatile equity markets," EBX said.
Ventana's shareholders include other influential players in the global mining industry, including Lumina Capital and Sprott Asset Management, an arm of Sprott Inc (SII.TO: Quote), the Canadian fund manager specializing in resource investments.
EBX owns its stake in Ventana through its subsidiary 63X Master Fund. It holds 20,806,000 common shares of Ventana and industry observers have long speculated it was just a matter of time before it increased its stake.
In Colombia, there are few mining companies in production at present, but many aim to be pouring gold bars in the near future as investment ramps up and the nation's image as a center for drug violence fades.
Shares of Galway Resources (GWY.V: Quote), a Vancouver-based junior which believes its property is over the gold linked to Ventana's La Bodega deposit, jumped 17 percent on Wednesday to C$1.02 a share.
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The company is viewed as a takeover target, and its management said a year ago it was in talks that could result in a sale to a third party.
Galway also owns coal, which might make it appealing to Batista, whose company bought an area of land in Colombia earlier in the year on which it will build a 20 million-tonne-a-year coal export terminal.
Industry observers have said that Galway might also be a good fit for Batista's companies.
Stock of Greystar Resources (GSL.TO: Quote), whose Angostura gold and silver deposit also borders on Ventana's, rose 17 percent to C$5.21 a share just after midday.
($1=$1.02 Canadian)
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