@nordesmic ....Have you been a queit holder??Great to have you here. Below is the AFR article.
I have no opinion on this matter, just on general knowledge an acquisition can't be a bad thing.
Now we know why the share price never moved much above 50c. People in the know where managing the share price.
Aurelia Metals strikes gold with $200m M&A deal, raisingSarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and
Tim BoydNov 12, 2020 – 9.33pm
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Aurelia Metals has caught the gold M&A bug and is set to pitch a chunky acquisition and equity raising to investors.
It is understood Aurelia Metals is closing in on NSW-based Dargues Gold Mine and its nearby tenements, which are owned by shareholders and associates of underground mining services contractor PYBAR Mining Services.
Aurelia Metals will make about 70 per cent of its earnings from gold should it acquire Dargues Gold Mine as expected. AFR
Aurelia Metals is expected to pay $200 million for the mine and tenements, including $176 million cash and $24 million scrip, and fund the deal with an underwritten equity raising.
Investment bank UBS is understood to have started lining up support for the equity raising, which would be done by way of a placement and rights issue.
Aurelia Metals has secured a $65 million commitment from lending banks Investec and BNP Paribas, which would be partly used to fund the purchase price. The two banks were also expected to replace Aurelia Metals' existing working capital and environmental bonding facilities with new packages worth $20 million and $50 million, respectively.
Dargues Gold Mine is an underground gold mine in NSW, located between Canberra and Batemans Bay, which was only recently commissioned and saw its first concentrate shipped in June.
The mine was expected to produce 45,000 to 55,000 ounces of gold on average across its lifetime, and was due to hit its nameplate capacity of 355 kilo-tonnes of ore mined and processed ore by mid next year.
Double downIt would be a big deal for Aurelia Metals and would see the group establish itself as a gold dominant producer.
The company produced 91,672 ounces of gold last financial year and recorded $103 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from the sale of gold, lead, zinc, copper and silver. Its focus is on the Cobar Basin in NSW, where it owns and operates the Peak Mine and Hera Mine.
Aurelia Metals was expected to pitch the deal as taking it one step closer to its strategy of being the next mid-tier gold and base metals producer on the ASX boards. From there – these miners tend to just want to get bigger and shinier, and within another couple of M&A cycles you can get the next Evolution or Northern Star.
Aurelia Metals shares closed at 50¢ each on Thursday, which valued the group's equity at $440 million. Its biggest shareholders include Eley Griffiths Group, Norges Bank, Perennial Value and Platypus Asset Management, according to substantial shareholder notices filed with the ASX.
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