Apex buys Monte Oro shares

SCREENGRAB from www.apexmines.com

Apex Mining Co. Inc. is buying out shareholders in Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc. for some P5.1 billion, to be funded through the issuance of new shares meant to raise Apex’s capital stock.

Apex Mining said in a statement its board approved last Sept. 11 the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Monte Oro that currently belong to shareholders such as Prime Metroline Holdings Inc., Lakeland Village Holdings Inc., Devoncourt Estates Inc., A. Brown Company Inc., and Wealth Securities Inc.

The company will buy a total of 5.122 billion shares at P1 each, and sellers will be given the chance to subscribe to new Apex shares, which will be issued also at P1 each.

“The acquisition will expand the business of (Apex Mining), allow it to have another mineral processing plant and expand its operations in … Camarines Norte, and allow it to have a healthier balance sheet with an increase in its asset base and equity,” the company said.

Prior to this move by Apex, Monte Oro holds a 33.34-percent stake in the former.

Monte Oro has a 30-percent stake in Service Contract No. 72 related to natural gas resources in an area off Palawan, as well as 52-percent shareholdings in International Cleanvironment Systems Inc. which has a build-operate-transfer deal with the government for solid waste management in Metro Manila.

Also, Monte Oro has full or partial ownership of assets related to mining both in the Philippines and foreign markets such as Mongolia, Sierra Leone and Burma (Myanmar).