Latest news with #Mongolian-focused
West Australian
14 hours ago
- Business
- West Australian
Singapore-based Bastion Mining wins Xanadu copper-gold treasure
Singapore mining entity Bastion Mining has declared victory in its battle for control of ASX-listed Xanadu Mines, announcing its off-market takeover bid is now unconditional after it secured a 55.65 per cent stake in the Mongolian-focused copper and gold explorer. Bastion committed to declaring the bid unconditional when it hit the 50.1 per cent shareholding threshold to secure majority control. The company quickly accumulated the required shares after tabling its bid for Xanadu in mid-May, with an 8 cents per share offer. After revealing last week that Chinese mining giant Zijin Mining - a 15.7 per cent shareholder in Xanadu – had accepted Bastion's offer for its Xanadu holdings, it was a lay down misère that the takeover would succeed. Zijin, happy to seize the cash on offer, is also Xanadu's 50:50 joint venture partner in the company's flagship Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia – a stake it plans to retain. Bastion is controlled by 75 per cent owner, Singapore-based investment outfit Boroo Pte Ltd and 25 per cent stakeholder Ganbayar Lkhagvasuren, a current Xanadu director. Bastion pounced on Xanadu after a planned control deal with Zijin Mining petered out on an exclusivity period the two companies had been using to hammer out terms. Following Zijin's acceptance, Xanadu's independent takeover board committee quickly reaffirmed its recommendation that shareholders accept the Bastion offer without delay, if no superior bid emerged. The flagship Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia's South Gobi region no doubt caught Bastion's eyes. The eyebrow-raising resource clocks in at a sensational 730 million tonnes of ore containing 1.6Mt of copper and 4 million ounces of gold. A recent feasibility study slapped a lofty US$ 930 million (A$1.43 billion) net present value on Kharmagtai, based on a capital investment of US$890 million (A$1.36 billion). The project is tipped to churn out a mouthwatering 80,000t of copper and 170,000 ounces of gold a year, with an impressive operating cost of just 70 cents per pound copper. The numbers get the thumbs up, with Kharmagtai expected to pay for itself in four years and continue raining cash for almost three decades. It has a projected EBITDA of US$293 million (A$450 million) a year, a nice earn for any companies lucky enough to possess an in-demand project. With the ownership issue now resolved, it's time to 'let the games begin' to develop Kharmagtai's copper and gold riches. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
19-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Xanadu shares soar on $160m takeover offer
Xanadu Mines' share price soared more than 50 per cent today after the company received an 8 cents per share takeover offer from unlisted Bastion Mining, valuing the Mongolian-focused copper-gold developer at $160 million. The proposed takeover offer follows hot on the heels of an expired exclusivity period earlier this month over a control transaction the company was negotiating with joint venture partner and major shareholder Zijin Mining. The two parties were unable to come to terms by the expiry date, at which point Bastion, a consortium made up of Singapore-based private investment firm Boroo Pte Ltd and existing Xanadu director Ganbayar Lkhagvasuren, swooped in to table an off-market takeover offer for all Xanadu's outstanding shares. In the absence of a superior offer, the Xanadu board unanimously recommended shareholders accept the deal. Xanadu's flagship Kharmagtai project, held in a 50:50 partnership with Zijin, is a significant copper-gold resource hosting a massive 730-million-tonne ore reserve, which included 1.6Mt of copper and 4M ounces of gold. A recent feasibility study for Kharmagtai pegged the project's net present value at a weighty US$930M (A$1.44 billion) on a US$890M (A$1.3B) capex, generating a US$293M (A$455M) annual EBITDA. Based on an output tipped at 80,000t copper and 170,000 ounces of gold a year – and assuming a 70 cents per pound copper cost – the mine is set to pay off in four years and deliver cash dividends for almost another 30 years. Moorhead said the company's takeover board committee directors considered the offer to be in the best interest of shareholders and unanimously recommended shareholders' acceptance, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding it was fair and reasonable. The offer represents a 57 per cent premium to Xanadu's last closing price on Friday, May16. Xanadu says previous attempts to lock down a deal with Zijin collapsed due to insufficient certainty around Zijin's commitment to a control transaction. On behalf of Bastion, Lkhagvasuren tellingly said the offer announced today provides Xanadu's shareholders with the certainty of cash at a significant premium to the company's share price, against a market backdrop of considerable uncertainty. 'Bastion is ideally positioned to advance Kharmagtai to the next stage of development with the benefit of Boroo's experience in acquiring, financing and developing mining operations in Mongolia,' Lkhagvasuren said. Bastion's offer remains subject to the company acquiring at least a 50.1 per cent interest in Xanadu, at which point Bastion will declare the offer unconditional. In addition to the 8c per share takeover offer, Bastion will subscribe for almost 287M shares at 6c per share to help Xanadu meet its joint venture and corporate funding obligations during the offer period. That subscription will inject a further $17.2M into Xanadu's coffers. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
