TRADING was halted Tuesday in shares of ASX-listed gold company Alto Metals (ASX: AME) after it received a takeover approach from Goldsea Australia Mining, a subsidiary of Chinese company Shandong Goldsea Group.
Alto Metals shares will stay in a trading halt until Thursday or pending its response to the takeover approach.
The gold exploration company advised its shareholders on February 24 that Goldsea had offered to acquire all of its shares for the price of $0.065/share in cash.
Alto noted that Goldsea’s approach was subject to conditions including Foreign Investment Review Board approval and due diligence to confirm the mineral resource in its Sandstone Gold project.
The company stated that its directors advise Alto Metals shareholders take no action and await its response to Goldsea’s approach.
Goldsea Group said its offer price for Alto Metals represented a 93pc premium to its one-month weighted average price of $0.034/share.
The Chinese company said its takeover would enable it to consolidate Alto’s Sandstone gold project within its mining portfolio of three underground coal mines in China.
Goldsea Group chairman Mr Jianjun Li said its takeover approach for Alto was a logical step in line with its strategy to bring the Sandstone project within its orbit.
“Given the nature of the Sandstone gold project exploration and potential restart, we believe the Sandstone gold project would be best placed being wholly owned within a larger, diversified portfolio such as Goldsea’s,” he said.
The Sandstone gold project comprises 800sqkm of the prospective Sandstone Greenstone belt lying 600km north of Perth, in the East Murchison mineral field of WA.
