merger to go ahead

CopperCo, MinSec merger to go ahead

2nd September 2008, 10:45 WST

The planned merger between minerals explorer CopperCo and investment company Mineral Securities will go ahead, after CopperCo upped its stake in the firm to 94.7 per cent after closing its recommended offer.

Under the scrip take over offer, MinSec shareholders received 2.2 CopperCo shares for each ordinary MinSec share they held.

A merger between the two companies was not unexpected, given the long-standing relationship between the firms, with the compulsory acquisition of the remaining MinSec shares to take place within about eight weeks.

The combined company will bring together CopperCo's main asset, the Lady Annie copper mine, and MinSec's Lady Loretta lead-zinc project, both in Queensland.

It will also take in emerging platinum producer Platmin, which is 16.4 per cent owned by MinSec, Tianshan Goldfields, which has a gold project in China and is 19.9 per cent owned by MinSec, and Sappes Gold, which is wholly owned by MinSec.

CopperCo managing director Brian Rear said the merger benefits ¬¬– of increased scale, and asset and commodity diversity – were more compelling in the current economic environment.

“CopperCo expects to hit the ground running and rapidly integrate the two businesses. We are now looking forward to taking advantage of the value creation opportunities for shareholders in the new CopperCo,” he said.

MinSec shares were untraded at 75¢ at 10.48am, while CopperCo shares were steady at 39c.

ANDREW HOBBS