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(Alliance News) - Assore International Holdings Ltd, the major shareholder of Atlantic Lithium Ltd, on Wednesday said the latter missed out on an "attractive" deal by rejecting its acquisition offers.
Atlantic Lithium, which has lithium exploration and development assets in Ghana and Ivory Coast, said on Wednesday morning that it had rejected two non-binding indicative takeover offers from Assore, a Johannesburg-based mining company.
Atlantic Lithium shares surged 21% on Wednesday morning after it disclosed the rejections. They were up 22% at 25.24 pence each that afternoon.
In both approaches, the first of which was in early October, Assore offered to pay AUD0.63 or 33 pence per share in cash. However, Atlantic Lithium believed the proposed consideration "undervalued" the company and its future potential.
Later on Wednesday, Assore responded that its offer "represented a highly compelling opportunity" for all shareholders to "realise certainty of value" on their stakes in Atlantic Lithium. It noted that the offer price represented a 54% premium on Atlantic's closing price of AUD0.41 or 21p per share on November 6.
"Assore is disappointed that the committee has decided not to engage with [us] to facilitate its
shareholders receiving the benefits of the proposed offer," the firm commented. The offer, it added, would have "delivered an attractive price and the certainty of a fully funded cash offer from a party whose strong knowledge of the business, and industry, would have enabled speed and certainty of execution."
Earlier on Wednesday, Atlantic noted the near-term producer status of its Ewoyaa project on the Cape Coast in southern Ghana, as well as a pending investment from the Ghanaian government's Minerals Income Investment Fund. It also believed Assore's offers did not account for "the positive near-term outlook for lithium project developers."
In its response, Assore said it had "actively supported" Atlantic Lithium's work on Ewoyaa, and "in its establishment of a strong and mutually beneficial relationship" with the Ghanaian government.
"As Atlantic's major shareholder Assore looks forward to the government of Ghana's
continued good relationship with Atlantic and continued support for the development of Ewoyaa," Assore added.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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