Shandong acquires control of Cardinal Resources
Cardinal Resources Ltd. [CDV-TSX, ASX; OTC-CRDNF] said Thursday December 24 that it notes the announcement made by Shandong Gold Mining (HongKong) Co. Ltd. that Shandong has received acceptance in connection with its unconditional off-market takeover offer for Cardinal in excess of 50% of all Cardinal shares.
“Shandong Gold has accordingly acquired a controlling shareholding in Cardinal,” the company said in a press release.
The announcement indicates that a lengthy battle between Shandong Gold and United Kingdom-based Nord Gold SE [NORD-LSE] has finally come to an end. Shandong Gold Mining is a 48%-owned affiliate of China-controlled Shandong Gold Group Co. Ltd.
Shandong is an equal partner with Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX; GOLD-NYSE] in the Veladero gold mine in Argentina. A bid by Shandong to acquire TMAC Resources Inc. [TMR-TSX] and its Hope Bay gold project in Nunavut was blocked by the Canadian government this week on national security grounds.
Cardinal said Shandong has formally confirmed the variation of offer price of the Shandong Gold offer to A$1.075 per Cardinal share and has noted it intends to extend the Shandong offer so as to close by January 12, 2021.
Cardinal also noted that at the close of trading on ASX on December 23, 2020, the offer period of the unconditional on-market takeover bid made by Nord Gold had expired. Accordingly, the Nordgold bid is no longer available to shareholders.
In another development Shandong announced that the conditions related to a proposed offer for Cardinal from Dongshan Investments – an Emirati-Russian joint venture with gold operations in Sudan – could not be met. That is because a proposed $1.20 per share (Australian) offer from Dongshan is subject to a number of conditions, one of which is obtaining a minimum of a 50.1% stake in Cardinal.
Cardinal said it is aware of Dongshan’s stated intention to make an offer, but added there has been no formal proposal or offer from Donghshan.
On Thursday, Cardinal shares eased 2.8% or $0.03 to $1.01 in light trading. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $1.05 and 20 cents.
Cardinal’s flagship asset is the Namdini gold project in Ghana, West Africa. It contains a published ore reserve of 5.1 million ounces, including a proven reserve of 400,000 ounces and a probable reserve of 4.7 million ounces (131.2 million tonnes at 1.12 g/t gold at a 0.5 g/t cut-off).