Tirupati Graphite plc (TGR.L, TGRHF.OTCQX) the specialist graphite producer and a supplier of critical minerals for the green transition economy, provides an update with regards to the potential business combination and ongoing relationship with Tirupati Speciality Graphite Private Limited (now renamed PranaGraf Materials & Technologies Private Limited) (“TSG” or “PranaGraf”).
PranaGraf is an Indian Company engaged in the manufacturing and development of downstream flake graphite products and projects, research and development of graphene and advanced materials, and development of mineral processing technologies. The recent rebranding of TSG as PranaGraf better reflects the business and its strategy; however, it does not change the relationship it has with TG.
Given the synergies between TG and PranaGraf, on 10 October 2018 the two parties agreed to a business combination arrangement under a share swap deal. However, due to unforeseen regulatory restrictions, the acquisition could not be completed, and therefore no investment has been made by Tirupati into PranaGraf.
Following a review by a Board subcommittee which appointed a top tier Indian legal advisor, TG announced on 11 July 2022 that it had identified a number of options:
· continued pursuit of regulatory approval for the Proposed Acquisition;
· exploring the possible participation in alternative investment vehicles for investment in TSG; and
· exploring possible commercial arrangements with TSG.
In the meantime, the Company has focused its resources on its twin priorities of:
i) addressing the operational challenges at its graphite mines in Madagascar primarily caused by extreme weather conditions to enable the ramp-up of production, and
ii) completion of the acquisition of Suni Resources which owns two ready to develop globally significant DFS Status graphite projects in Mozambique.
Having now completed these two strategic imperatives, TG intends to focus its efforts to develop the options identified last year in order to reach a workable arrangement with PranaGraf.
Shishir Poddar, Executive Chairman of Tirupati Graphite, said:
“The 2018 agreement between Tirupati and PranaGraf to combine the businesses has been frustrated by regulatory restrictions. The many benefits encourage us to continue to seek solutions to enable a combination to be executed. Having completed the acquisition of Suni Resources and arranged the progress of ramp up of production at our Madagascar projects, we are now well placed to focus on this and shall update the markets as we progress further.”
