SUNDANCE Resources will continue to suspend share trading until a takeover agreement has been reached with China’s Sichuan Hanlong Group.
Last month, Hanlong was given the green light by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to purchase the international iron ore company, conditional to a “reasonable acquisition price”.
Sundance said in a statement share trading would remain suspended until negotiations for the acquisition price had been completed, “at which point in time it will have sufficient certainty to update the market”.
In May, Hanlong announced it had proposed to acquire 100 per cent of Sundance for $0.54 per share, valuing the company at $1.7 billion.
Sundance board members said the price was attractive and recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the deal in the absence of a superior proposal.
Along with the reasonable acquisition price, the agreement is subject to Hanlong securing equity and debt funding from relevant banks plus securing mining development rights for both Sundance’s Mbalam mine in Cameroon and the Nabeba project in the Congo.
Sundance said the receipt of the NDRC’s provisional approval was an essential step towards achieving all Chinese regulatory approvals required by the second court date, scheduled for early November.
Sundance chairman George Jones said provisional approval from the NDRC was positive news for Sundance shareholders.
“The NDRC decision is encouraging news for the people of the Republic of Cameroon and Republic of [the] Congo, who stand to benefit enormously from the development of the Mbalam and Nabeba projects,” he said.
The Mbalam iron ore project straddles the border of Cameroon and Congo and targets the mining of 35 million tonnes per annum from iron deposits.
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