Medusa Mining rejects Crosby buyout offer
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:07:00 09/24/2008
Filed Under: Stock Activity, Mining and quarrying, Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers
Australia-based Medusa Mining Ltd. on Tuesday advised its shareholders to take no action on a buyout offer of Crosby Capital Ltd., describing it as “inadequate and opportunistic.”
Crosby, a Hong Kong-based asset management group, made an offer last week to acquire Medusa for A$182 million. It said it would buy through a special purpose vehicle all the ordinary shares of Medusa for A$1.15 per share.
Medusa operates the CO-O gold mine in the southern province of Agusan del Sur in partnership with local firm Philsaga Mining Corp. It owns 40 percent of the project. Philsaga owns 60 percent.
In a statement, Medusa managing director Geoff Davis said the company’s board had done an initial review of what he called an “unsolicited and highly conditional” offer.
“The board and management of Medusa, which hold a combined 17.15 percent of the issued shares of Medusa, do not propose to accept Crosby’s offer on the terms announced, and on that basis, the 90 percent minimum acceptance condition will not be satisfied,” Davis said.
He said this condition was one of Crosby’s “21 defeating conditions, details of which are set out in the offer announcement.”
He said the conditions for the takeover offer also included a detailed investigation Medusa and a report by an independent expert, and provision of access and information to Crosby, whether or not such information is generally available.
“The board does not consider it appropriate to provide an independent export of Crosby with access to the company’s proprietary information in the circumstances and for the purposes indicated in the offer announcement,” Davis said. Edited by INQUIRER.net
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