Gold miner Peter Hambro in talks to take over Aricom
Anglo-Russian miner Aricom said it was in early talks that may lead to an all-share offer from gold miner Peter Hambro Mining Plc.
Posted: Friday , 09 Jan 2009
LONDON (Reuters) -
mineweb.com
Anglo-Russian miner Plc said on Friday it was in early talks that may lead to an all-share offer from gold miner Peter Hambro Mining Plc, prompting Aricom's shares to surge almost 80 percent.
Aricom, which mines iron ore and other minerals in Russia's far east for clients in resource-hungry China, said any share offer would be made "at a substantial premium to the current share price."
The company was spun off from Hambro, Russia's second largest gold miner, in 2003. Peter Hambro, Hambro's executive chairman, and Pavel Maslovskiy, Hambro's deputy chair, both sit on Aricom's board.
Maslovskiy and Hambro each own a 7.4 percent stake in Aricom, according to Reuters data, making them the second and third-largest shareholders, respectively.
"There is no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming," Aricom said in a statement, adding that Morgan Stanley is advising on the deal.
Aricom, listed on London's FTSE 250 mid-cap index, said in October it was searching for $1 billion in external funds for an iron-ore project to supply clients in China. It said it was considering a loan or teaming up with a strategic partner.
Aricom, which also mines titanium, posted its first profit last February and is developing several mines in eastern Russia to deliver iron ore concentrate to the Chinese market at a fraction of the cost of Australian shipments.
Shares in Aricom were trading up 55 percent at 16.25 pence at 1458 GMT having earlier risen as high as 18.50 pence. Shares in Peter Hambro were 1.6 percent higher at 404 pence.
(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Paul Hoskins) |
