Monte Oro buying 5% stake in Apex

Apex Mining Co. disclosed on Tuesday that Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc. was acquiring a 5-percent stake in the listed miner.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Apex said it signed on Nov. 14, 2011, a subscription agreement that provided that Monte Oro would subscribe to more than 73.2 million Class A common shares from the authorized capital stock of Apex for $6 million.

“The shares subscribed to by Monte Oro are equivalent to at least 5 percent of the outstanding capital stock of the company. Closing is expected to take place by Nov. 18, 2011,” Apex corporate secretary Rosanna A. Parica said in a letter to the PSE.

Apex’s board of directors approved in a special meeting the proposed investment of Monte Oro and the issuance of the corresponding shares, Parica said.

Monte Oro, a private Philippine company formed in 2005, is engaged in metal mining and oil and gas production. It is also into infrastructure estate development.

In September, Apex disclosed it was merging with affiliate Teresa Crew Gold Philippines Inc. to “achieve operational efficiencies” and improve profitability. Apex said it would be the surviving corporation in the merger.

In the first half of 2011, Apex reported a net income of P53.4 million, compared with the net loss of P183.2 million over the same period in 2010. Sales amounted to P952.6 million in the first six months of 2011 from P662.6 million in the same period last year because of higher realized gold prices and higher volume sold.