Atlantic Lithium Ltd, listed on AIM has announced the rejection of two acquisition proposals from its principal shareholder, Assore International, valued at slightly above £200 million.
Assore proposed acquiring all remaining shares it doesn’t already own for 33p each, representing a 60% premium over the previous day’s closing price.
The independent directors committee (IBC) of Atlantic Lithium, which focuses on operations in Ghana, reviewed the latest offer, identical to a previous one made on October 2, and decided against it, just as it did with the initial proposal.
The IBC determined that the offers undervalued Atlantic Lithium and were not in the best interests of the shareholders. This assessment was influenced by the Ewoyaa project’s imminent production phase, the anticipated investment from the Minerals Income Investment Fund, and the favourable short-term prospects for lithium project developers, according to a company statement.
The conditions set forth for the acquisition included unanimous approval from Atlantic’s board, exclusive due diligence satisfactory to Assore, approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, and the formulation of a definitive, mutually agreeable scheme implementation agreement.
Neil Herbert, the Executive Chairman of Atlantic, commented, “Since our listing in London in 2015, Assore, a prominent African mining entity, has been a significant investor and a key factor in our success. We are eager to continue our robust relationship with Assore as we advance the Ewoyaa project towards production.”
Assore, a leading mining group in Africa, currently owns just over 25% of Atlantic Lithium’s shares.
