Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM) has moved one step closer to its planned takeover of O3 Mining (TSXV: OIII).
Toronto-based Agnico, the second-largest gold miner by stock market value, has acquired 94.1% of O3’s outstanding common shares via an all-cash takeover offer of C$1.67 per share, the companies announced Friday. The total consideration for the acquired stock amounts to C$184.4 million, and payment will be completed by Tuesday, the companies said.
All of the offer’s conditions have been satisfied or waived.
The deal, originally announced last month, was conditional on two-thirds of O3 shareholders tendering their shares by 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday. The offer – which represents a 58% premium to O3’s closing price on the day before the bid was disclosed – has now been extended until Feb. 3 to allow all remaining shareholders to tender their shares, Agnico and O3 said.
“We are pleased to achieve this excellent and timely outcome for our shareholders who tendered their common shares to the offer,” O3 CEO José Vizquerra said Friday.
“While providing an opportunity for our shareholders to realize immediate value at a significant premium, the transaction will also enable the efficient advancement of the Marban Alliance project by Agnico Eagle, an experienced operator that has the financial strength, mining expertise and community commitment to take the project to its next stage of development.”
O3’s main asset is its prefeasibility-stage Marban Alliance project near Val-d’Or, Que., about 520 km northwest of Montreal, and 12 km east of Agnico’s Canadian Malartic open-pit mine. Capital costs are pegged at C$435 million for the project to produce 161,000 oz. of gold per year over a 10-year life, according to a 2022 study.
Marban hosts open-pit and underground resources of 67.6 million indicated tonnes grading 1.09 grams gold per tonne for 2.3 million oz., and 3.1 million inferred tonnes at 2.21 grams gold for 223,000 oz., according to the 2022 study.
The project’s five targets are on sites of past-producing mines dating back to 1959, and all within several kilometres of Wesdome Gold Mines’ (TSX: WDO) Kiena mine, Eldorado Gold’s (TSX: ELD) Lamaque mine, and Agnico’s Goldex and Canadian Malartic.
O3 also holds the Horizon, Alpha and Regcourt properties in the Val-d’Or region, and the Launay, Peacock, Kinebik and Nelligan sites further north. O3 shares were unchanged at C$1.66 – one cent below the offer price – in late morning trading Friday. Agnico rose 0.9% to C$108.60.
Source: MINING.COM – Read More
