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- With the January 12 deadline looming large, Cardinal Resources (CDV) is urging its shareholders to accept Shandong Gold’s takeover offer “without delay”
- After securing a controlling interest in the company on Christmas Eve, Shandong announced yesterday that it has further increased its holding to 68.07 per cent
- After a lengthy back-and-forth battle, Shandong’s current takeover offer stands at $1.075 per share
- Shandong has beaten a number of rivals to be the only remaining bidder for the company – Cardinal’s shareholders now have until 7:00pm Sydney time on January 12, 2021, to accept the offer
- Shares in Cardinal Resources were up 0.47 per cent at the close of trading yesterday to $1.08 each
With the January 12 deadline looming large, Cardinal Resources (CDV) is urging its shareholders to accept Shandong Gold’s takeover offer “without delay.”
The state-owned Chinese gold company made its most recent offer of $1.075 per Cardinal share on December 22 following an extensive back-and-forth battle with Nordgold – a London-based company backed by Russian oligarch and steel billionaire Alexey Mordashov.
But that proved too much for Nordgold, which said in a statement that Shandong’s offer was “beyond that at which Nordgold feels able to justify, taking into account the risks associated with mine development, entry into a new jurisdiction, and Nordgold’s required rate of return on new projects.”
Instead, NordGold accepted the offer and sold its shareholding to Shandong, giving it a controlling interest of more than 50 per cent, as was announced on Christmas Eve.
Nikolai Zelenski, Nordgold’s CEO, noted that the takeover offers for Cardinal had played out over an extended period, and had ultimately resulted in a strong outcome for all shareholders – particularly for Nordgold with an almost $180 million payday.
“In the case of Cardinal, the competitive bidding and strong Australian dollar, have taken Nordgold to a very substantial profit on its investment, whilst allowing us to continue always to prioritise capital discipline and maximise value for our shareholders,” he added.
Since then, Shandong has been slowly increasing its holding as more shareholders decide to sell. The company revealed yesterday morning that it had purchased an additional 14.29 million shares, bringing its total interest to 68.07 per cent.
With the takeover more or less in the bag for Shandong, Cardinal’s Board of Directors is pushing the company’s remaining shareholders to follow Nordgold’s example.
In a statement yesterday, the company said that those who didn’t sell would “continue to be exposed to the risks associated with being a minority Cardinal shareholder,” and cautioned that both a similar selling price and the continued listing of the shares on the ASX and TSX is uncertain.
Cardinal also noted that its directors – who collectively hold roughly 3.5 per cent of the company’s shares – have either accepted, or are in the process of accepting, Shandong’s offer.
The company’s remaining shareholders now have until 7:00pm Sydney time on January 12, 2021, to accept the offer.
Shares in Cardinal Resources were up 0.47 per cent at the close of trading yesterday to $1.08 each.
