Victoria Gold says Atac takeover plan still active
Atac Resources Ltd. (ATC-TSXV) has confirmed that on January 12, 2023, it received an unsolicited non-binding proposal from Victoria Gold Corp. [VIT-TSXV] to acquire 100% of the share capital of Atac for 12 cents per share, payable in Victoria shares.
Victoria Gold issued a press release Tuesday, which noted Atac’s response and said its takeover proposal remains open for acceptance until 5:00 pm (Vancouver time) on February 17, 2023, at which time it said the offer will expire.
Atac said the offer represented a 36.4% premium to Atac’s closing price at the time of the offer. It was non-binding and contained numerous deal conditions, Atac said in a press release that came after the close of trading on February 13, 2023, when Atac shares rose 38.4% or $0.025 to $0.09 on volume of 3.73 million.
The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 16 cents and $0.065.
Atac has recently been focused on developing Canada’s only Carlin-style gold district and intrusion-related polymetallic targets at the 1,700 square kilometre Rackla property in the Canadian Yukon.
The company also has an option on the 151.5-square kilometre PIL property, which is located in the prolific Toodogone porphyry and epithermal district of northern British Columbia. Once the option is exercised, Atac and Finlay Minerals Ltd. [FYL-TSXV] will each own 70% and 30% of the project respectively.
After receiving the offer from Victoria, Atac said it engaged Stikeman Elliott LLP and Agentis Capital Mining Partners as legal and financial advisers, respectively, to evaluate the proposal. After a thorough review, Ata responded on January 19, 2023, that it did not believe the offer fully captured the significant value of Atac, including the district-scale precious and critical metals potential of the Rackla gold property and Atac’s other properties in the Yukon and British Columbia.
Atac indicated that it was willing to engage in further discussions with Victoria related to a transaction that more fairly valued Atac, including the significant investments made to date at Rackla, the resources present at both the Osiris and Tiger gold deposits [at Rackla], exploration and other tax credits, the project’s future upside, and the potential of its portfolio of discovery-stage copper-gold projects in Yukon and British Columbia.
“With over $4 million in cash in our treasury, a strong resource base at Rackla, and compelling discovery potential across our project portfolio, we believe this offer does not reflect the significant value of Atac,’’ said Atac President and CEO Graham Downs.
Meanwhile, after receiving the offer, Atac directed its financial advisors to engage other parties to evaluate alternatives to maximize value for shareholders, and discussions are continuing, the company said.
Victoria’s flagship Eagle gold mine is situated on the Dublin Gulch gold property in the central Yukon Territory, about 375 kilometres north of Whitehorse and approximately 85 kilometres from the town of Mayo.
Covering 555 square kilometer, Dublin Gulch hosts the Eagle and Olive gold deposits, which contain proven and probable reserves of 3.3 million ounces of gold, with a grade of 0.65 g/t.