LONDON (Alliance News) - Coal of Africa Ltd on Friday said its offer for Universal Coal PLC has lapsed and it will now evaluate all opportunities for its future, including making another bid for Universal.
Coal of Africa had been working towards securing acceptances and meeting the conditions for a AUD126.4 million reverse takeover of Universal Coal since agreeing the acquisition in November last year.
On Friday, Coal of Africa said while it had managed to secure acceptances from around 96% of Universal Coal shareholders, and agreement has not yet been finalised with South African utility Eskom over the NCC site Universal runs in South Africa.
Due to the uncertainty in finalising this agreement with Eskom and other working capital issues, Coal of Africa said the conditions for the takeover had not been finalised and therefore the offer has lapsed.
Coal of Africa said it was "disappointed" it could not agree the deal at this time, but continues to consider potential acquisition opportunities. This could include another bid for Universal Coal, which may need to be restructured from the original agreement.
Coal of Africa said it will continue to focus on restructuring its balance sheet, operations and project pipeline in order to better position itself to boost shareholder value.
Shares in Coal of Africa sank 19% to 2.85 pence on the news.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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