Genesis Minerals has further increased the value of its offer to acquire St Barbara’s Leonora assets in Western Australia.
Genesis offered A$625m ($417.75m), based on the closing price of its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on 12 May at A$1.275 ($0.852).
The raised bid has also been supported by St Barbara.
In accordance with the new agreement, Genesis will issue an additional five million shares to St Barbara after the transaction is completed.
Furthermore, 52.2 million performance rights will also be converted into Genesis shares immediately after the deal closure, provided that St Barbara shareholders approve the transaction on or before the end of June.
Following this agreement, the consideration will include A$370m ($247.3m) in cash and 205 million shares in Genesis, valued at A$261m ($174.45m).
The total implied value of the deal will now be A$631m ($421.7m).
Additionally, the company has agreed to a cash deposit of A$25m ($16.7m). This deposit will be held in an escrow account and is non-refundable if Genesis shareholders don’t approve the transaction or if, St Barbara validly terminates the agreement.
With the new agreement, St Barbara shareholders will collectively own a nearly 19.9% stake in Genesis. It was previously estimated to be up to 19.5%.
Last year, the two companies entered an agreement under which St Barbara planned to acquire Genesis.
The Leonora-based gold assets of both companies were to be merged to create Hoover House.
It also required a demerger of St Barbara’s non-Leonora assets to form Phoenician Metals.
The agreement was terminated due to an increase in funding requirements among other reasons.
