Chinese company Yintai Gold has reached an agreement with Canadian gold exploration company Osino Resources to acquire all outstanding Osino common shares in a deal valued at around C$368m (N$5,5 billion), or C$1,90 per share.
This will enable Yintai to take ownership of Osino's gold assets in Namibia, including the Twin Hills gold project in central Namibia, as well as exploration projects Ondundu and Eureka.
Prior to entering the Yintai agreement, Osino terminated its arrangement with Dundee Precious Metals (DPM), which was reached on 17 December 2023.
According to a statement from Heye Daun, Osino's president and chief executive, released on 19 February, Osino received a binding proposal from Yintai to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Osino common shares and notified DPM that this offer constituted a "superior proposal" in accordance with the terms of the DPM agreement.
The superior proposal was approximately 32% more than the implied value of the consideration offered pursuant to the DPM agreement.
Yintai has also provided Osino with a loan comprising an approximately US$10 million facility provided concurrently with the execution of the agreement to enable the continued, fast-tracked development of the Twin Hills gold project, and to fund other liquidity needs of Osino and an amount equal to the termination fee paid by Osino, following the termination of the DPM agreement.
Daun stated: "While we were appreciative of the previous offer from DPM, the all-cash offer from Yintai represents a significant premium to the DPM offer price, thus is clearly a superior proposal, and is an excellent outcome for Osino's shareholders.
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"Yintai is experienced, well-financed, and has a highly credible track record of gold mining in China, with the technical skills and financial resources to progress the project through construction and into production. We look forward to working with Yintai to continue to fast-track the development of the project and close this transaction."
Xingong Ou, the president of Yintai, said: "Twin Hills represents a unique opportunity to add a high-quality gold development asset to our portfolio in a stable and mining-friendly jurisdiction. The project provides the foundation for our future production profile, with production targeted for 2026, as well as significant exploration upside.
"We are excited to leverage the excellent work done by the Osino team in discovering and progressing Twin Hills to this point, and we are looking forward to working with the existing Osino team to grow their Namibian activities and to implement the construction of the project.
"We are impressed with the responsible mining approach which the Osino team has built, and we intend to continue and to grow that approach."
After consultation with its financial and legal advisers, and on the unanimous recommendation of the special committee of independent directors, the Osino Board unanimously determined that the transaction is fair to Osino shareholders and is in the best interests of Osino, and approved the Yintai agreement.
- matthew@namibian.com.na
