https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/hancock-prospecting-stre...

https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/hancock-prospecting-stretches-riversdale-offer-to-645m/

Hancock Prospecting has increased its takeover offer for Riversdale Resources, taking its proposed buyout to over $645 million, provided it owns more than 85 per cent of the target company.

The Gina Rinehart-owned company is making an all-cash unconditional offer at the revised price of $2.70 a share, up from $2.20 a share in February this year.

Hancock’s latest offer also represents a leap from its previous offer of $2.50 a share given it achieves over 50 per cent holding in Riversdale.

The Hancock Prospecting subsidiary is also understood to have increased its interest in Riversdale to around 40.43 per cent.

Hancock has held its holding in Riversdale steady at 38.2 per cent since April 11 until May 3 – one business day before Hancock’s announcement of its recent offer.

Riversdale has not yet responded to this latest offer, a spokesperson from business advisory firm FTI Consulting told Australian Mining.

The target’s independent directors, up until recently, opted to “unanimously recommend” that shareholders reject the offer.

Hancock will keep this latest offer open until May 10 and will pay all Riversdale shareholders who accept the offer their consideration for their shares on or before seven days after their acceptance.

Riversdale’s biggest shareholder is United States-based private equity firm Resource Capital Funds (RCF), which held a 47.98 per cent stake in Riversdale as of February this year.

The target company is not publicly listed and is best known for its development of the Grassy Mountain coal project in Alberta, Canada. The project is projected to produce 93 million tonnes of coking coal over a 24-year mine life.