LONDON (Alliance News) - Aurasian Minerals PLC on Monday said it has formally launched its offer to buy Moroccan Minerals Ltd, after completing due diligence.
The company signed a heads of agreement at the start of December to acquire Jersey-based Moroccan Minerals in an all-share deal, and on Monday said it now had dispatched offer documents to shareholders.
Importantly, the directors of Moroccan Minerals, holding a collective 48.5% stake in the company, all support the deal, Aurasian said. That means Aurasian only needs shareholders with a collective 1.51% stake in Moroccan Minerals to support the deal before the offer becomes unconditional.
Aurasian is offering 4.22 Aurasian shares for every 1 Moroccan Minerals share. This would result in Aurasian issuing a maximum of 81.0 million shares and would result in Moroccan Minerals shareholders owning 16% of Aurasian.
Under the terms of the agreement, Moroccan Minerals director Didier Fohlen will join the board of Aurasian as a non-executive director, while Fabian Baker, another Moroccan Minerals director, will become Aurasian's chief operating officer.
Moroccan Minerals, set up in 2013, signed an earn-in agreement with Balkan Mineral Corp to earn up to an 80% interest in a polymetallic project, called Chadine, in south-west Serbia, near the border with Montenegro.
Aurasian on Monday said it has "agreed to ensure" that Moroccan Minerals will provide minimum funding of CAD750,000 to fund exploration work at Chadine, as part of its funding commitments.
Auruasian Chief Executive Peter Mullens said: "We are very excited by this transaction, with the Chadine Project having the potential, through successful exploration, to deliver an entire district of mineral deposits."
Aurasian shares were trading up 5.7% to 0.370 pence per share on Monday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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