M&A in the Australian Gold Mining Sector Ramping Up19 Oct 2021 00:47
https://www.afr.com/street-talk/gold-fever-ramelius-launches-at-apollo-bellevue-bankers-up-20211017-p590ni
ASX-listed Ramelius Resources is going for gold at Apollo Consolidated, as a new wave of M&A is set to sweep through Western Australia’s goldfields.
It is understood the Ramelius Resources, one of a handful of mid-cap Australian gold plays, has made a whole of company bid for the under-the-radar Apollo Consolidated, and spent the weekend in talks to advance the potential deal. Ramelius Resources is said to be keen to get its hands on Apollo’s flagship Lake Rebecca Gold Project, which is a 1.1 million ounce discovery located about 150km east of Kalgoorlie and billed as “one of the few genuinely new development opportunities in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields”.
Ramelius Resources is understood to have seen off a handful of other potential suitors - such as Silver Lake Resources - to emerge in pole position to agree a deal with Apollo Consolidated’s board. The board’s wants north of $160 million, sources said. Ramelius Resources has plenty of cash to strike. The group had a $234 million in cash and gold as at June 30, and analysts expect that number to have increased to about $270 million by the end of the September quarter. It’s been shopping to try to re-stock its own reserves, notably at its Mt Magnet and Edna May projects, and has flagged to potential targets that it’s willing and able to execute quickly on transactions.
The big question is whether Ramelius Resources can get Apollo Consolidated’s board, headed by Perth lawyer Roger Steinepreis, over the line. Analysts reckon it’s been happy to stay below the radar, but will now have to switch strategies to maximise an offer. Ramelius Resources and Apollo Consolidated declined to comment on Sunday.
It comes as expectations build about a flood of gold sector M&A deals, as cashed-up mid-cap players looking to pounce on smaller neighbours. Already in recent weeks, St Barbara has made a move on $100 million junior Kin Mining, while Westgold Resources is trying to swallow Gascoyne.
There’s also some tyrekicking going on at the bigger end.