Ascent Resources plc intends to bid for Amur Minerals Corporation which recently sold its Kun Marie nickel copper sulphide project in Amur Oblast, far east Russia for US$35 million.
NEW ENTITY
Ascent said it had been involved in “a period of protracted discussions” with the British Virgin Islands-based company.
Ascent aims to create a “larger, well funded and more liquid entity” combining Amur’s cash with its own metals project pipeline in Latin America and its €500m+ Energy Charter Treaty damages claim from onshore gas operations in Slovenia.
The company submitted a non-binding indicative proposal to Amur in November 2022 to acquire 100% of its issued and to be issued share capital, post payment of Amur’s dividend.
The acquisition would be in a share-for-share exchange on a ratio of approximately one new Ascent share for every 21 Amur shares.
Ascent expected that Amur shareholders would own approximately 28.6% and its own shareholders would own 71.4% of the enlarged group.
COMPELLING
“Despite multiple conversations with the board of Amur and multiple follow up correspondence, the company has as yet been unable to elicit a written response to their offer,” added Ascent today in its statement.
The company added that the combined new entity would be a “strategically compelling proposition for both sets of shareholders”.