18 Dec 2013 11:07
18 December 2013
Ormonde Mining plc
("Ormonde" or "the Company")
Ormonde welcomes Irish Takeover Panel Statement
The Board of Ormonde Mining plc ("Ormonde") welcomes today's imposition by the Irish Takeover Panel of a 31 January, 2014 deadline by which Almonty Industries Inc. ("Almonty") must either announce an offer for Ormonde under Rule 2.5 of the Irish Takeover Rules or announce that it will not proceed with an offer for Ormonde.
Almonty has now had the benefit of a period of more than 4 months to date to advance an offer following its original proposal of a share for share exchange which triggered the commencement of an offer period on 9 August, 2013.
Over this period, Almonty's share price has fallen by approximately 30% from a closing price on 8 August, 2013 (the last day prior to the commencement of the offer period) of CAD$1.10 to a closing price on 17 December, 2013 (the last day prior to the issue of this announcement) of CAD$0.77, valuing the issued share capital of Almonty at approximately CAD$28.5 million (approximately Stg£16.5 million). Over this same period, the total shares traded in Almonty on the TSX represented 0.32% of its issued share capital, with an aggregate value of approximately CAD$107,000. This fall in share price and low level of liquidity follows a period over which Almonty reported a loss after tax of CAD$1.656 millionin respect of the three months ended 30 June, 2013 (the last period in respect of which Almonty has reported financial information).
This together with the fact that the current liabilities reported by Almonty as at 30 June, 2013 (CAD$8.914 million) were 40% higher than current assets as at 30 June, 2013 contributes to Ormonde's view that Almonty's stated interest in Ormonde, and in Barruecopardo in particular, is opportunistic and, having regard to the less than robust financial position of Almonty Industries, without merit for Ormonde shareholders.
The Board of Ormonde remains firmly and unanimously of the view that the proposal from Almonty lacks both strategic and economic merit. Advancing the flagship tungsten project at Barruecopardo is the Ormonde Group's immediate priority and in this context, final clarity on the intentions of Almonty which the Panel deadline now requires and/or the cessation of the ongoing offer period will be most welcome.
Enquiries:
Ormonde Mining plc
Kerr Anderson, Managing Director Tel: +353 (0)1 8253570
Davy (Nomad / ESM Adviser and Financial Adviser to Ormonde)
Eugenée Mulhern / Roland French Tel: +353 (0)1 6796363
Bankside Consultants
Simon Rothschild Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 8888 Mob: +44 (0)7703 167065
Murray Consultants
Ed Micheau Tel: +353 (0)1 4980300 Mob: +353 (0)86 803 7155
The Directors of Ormonde accept responsibility for the information contained in this announcement, save that the only responsibility accepted by the Directors of Ormonde in respect of the information in this announcement relating to Almonty, the Almonty Industries Group, the board of directors of Almonty and the persons connected with them, which has been compiled from published sources, has been to ensure that such information has been correctly and fairly reproduced or presented (and no steps have been taken by the Directors of Ormonde to verify this information). To the best of the knowledge and belief of the Directors of Ormonde (having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case), the information contained in this announcement for which they accept responsibility is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.
Any holder of 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of Ormonde or of Almonty may have disclosure obligations under Rule 8.3 of the Irish Takeover Panel Act, 1997, Takeover Rules 2007 (as amended).
Notes:
Information in relation to the Almonty Industries share price and share trading volume on the TSX is sourced from Bloomberg.
The market capitalization of Almonty is based on 37,044,389 common shares outstanding, which number is as stated in the announcement issued by Almonty dated 3 December, 2013.
The exchange rate used to convert Canadian dollars to sterling is CAD$1: Stg£0.5791, being the rate prevailing on 17 December, 2013.
Financial information on Almonty is extracted from the Unaudited Consolidated Interim Financial Statements of Almonty for the three and nine month periods ended 30 June, 2013 and from the Management Discussion and Analysis of Almonty for the Three and Nine Month periods ended 30 June, 2013 as published by Almonty on 28 August, 2013. Net loss after tax of CAD$1.656 million is as stated in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss - Three Months. The net loss after tax as stated in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss - Nine Months was CAD$1.226 million. Current assets and liabilities as at 30 June, 2013 are as stated in the Consolidated Balance Sheet of Almonty as at 30 June, 2013 with total current assets of CAD$6.372 million and current liabilities of CAD$8.914 million.