Gold Road Resources Ltd. made an unconditional off-market takeover offer of A$0.56 cash per share to acquire all the shares in Apollo Consolidated Ltd. The transaction is valued at A$160 million ($124 million). The offer outbids Ramelius Resources Ltd.’s most recent proposal for Apollo.
Apollo’s flagship asset is the Lake Rebecca gold project, located approximately 150 kilometers (km) east-northeast of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It hosts a JORC compliant mineral resource of 29.1 million metric tons (mt) at 1.2 grams/mt of gold for more than 1.1 million ounces (oz) of gold. Roughly three quarters of the Lake Rebecca mineral resource is in the indicated category. The deposit remains open at depth and relatively untested along strike.
Apollo holds a considerable cash balance of approximately A$34.9 million ($26 million) and it also has an interest in the Louisa nickel-copper sulphide project located in the Kimberley of Western Australia, which is currently the subject of farm-out arrangements by Apollo to IGO Ltd.
Gold Road said the offer aligns with its strategy to grow and diversify its growth pipeline with high-quality, low-risk opportunities in tier one jurisdictions.
Given a successful outcome, the company intends to undertake continued exploration and studies designed to advance Lake Rebecca. Gold Road has the balance sheet and capabilities to grow resources at Lake Rebecca and develop new mining operations. Gold Road discovered and successfully developed the Gruyere deposit.
Gold Road said it will fund the acquisition of Apollo Shares from $116 million ($87 million) in cash and short-term deposits while drawing down on a $250 million ($187 million) revolving facility.
