Gowest Gold (TSXV: GWA) is about to go private after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved a plan for shareholders to buy the company’s remaining shares.
Under the plan, a group of shareholders will buy the shares they don’t already own for 15¢ apiece, Gowest said on Monday. Gowest would also merge with an Ontario-incorporated company controlled by the shareholder group to create a new firm. That group, which together holds 91.5% of the company’s outstanding shares includes several China-based investors.
The plan is expected to close this week and the company’s shares will be delisted from the TSXV if certain customary conditions are met.
Gowest shares traded for 15¢ apiece on Monday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at $100.6 million. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of 4¢ to 15¢.
CEO Dan Gagnon said in June the transaction will help investors who have been the company’s main source of capital to bear the continuing risks of exploration and financing.
The move to go private comes amid challenges Gowest has faced in recent years in raising enough capital to develop the prefeasibility-stage Bradshaw deposit in its larger North Timmins project.
It also coincides with some Canadian junior companies expressing frustration with the federal government for stymieing foreign investment in critical minerals in name of national security. Last week, Solaris Resources (TSX: SLS; NYSE: SLSR) said it was relocating to Ecuador after blaming Ottawa for a stalled $130-million investment from China’s Zijin Mining, while graphite developer Falcon Energy Materials (TSXV: SRG) was the first TSX-listed company to redomicile to the United Arab Emirates after completing its move in July. Gold isn’t considered a critical mineral.
Sizable Chinese investment
The Gowest shareholder group is made up of main investor Lush Land Investment Canada, based in China’s Inner Mongolia region; Hong Kong’s Greenwater Investment; 1000216244 Ontario Inc.; Debao Wang; Yun Zhao; Fortune Future Holdings; Meirong Yuan, and C. Fraser Elliott and his Texas-based company CFE Financial Inc.
Lush Land raised its stake in Gowest to 46.5% from just under 25% on June 14. It bought the shares in separate transactions with Greenwater and Inner Mongolia Jinshengda Investment Co.
1.7M probable tonnes
Stretching across 109 sq. km, North Timmins comprises one patented mining claim, 11 mining leases and 56 unpatented mining claims.
The project’s main focus has been the Frankfield property, where gold mineralization was first discovered in 1974 before Gowest took over the project.
Bradshaw hosts probable reserves of 1.7 million tonnes grading 4.82 grams gold per tonne for 277,101 oz. of gold, 2.1 million indicated tonnes grading 6.19 grams gold and 3.6 million inferred tonnes grading 6.47 grams gold, according to the 2015 prefeasibility study.
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