Vancouver – Setting off a bidding war, Minera Penmont, a company jointly owned by Fresnillo (FNLPF-O, FRES-L) and Newmont Mining (NMC-T, NEM-N), fired off a better offer than Goldcorp’s (G-T, GG-N) for Canplats Resources (CPQ-V, CPQRF-O). Canplats’ shareprice surged over 50% on the news, up $1.70 to $4.85.
In November Goldcorp announced a takeover offer that would have seen Canplats shareholders receive 0.074 a Goldcorp share for every Canplats share they owned. The offer suggested a $3.42 Canplats shareprice.
In addition to Goldcorp shares, Canplats shareholders would also have receive a 90.1% stake in a spin-off exploration company that would own Canplats’s properties other than its flagship Camino Rojo project, the company’s coveted crown jewel.
However, Dec. 22, 2009, Penmont upped the ante with a second bid for Canplats, one that Canplats’ board of directors deemed superior.
Penmont’s bid comes with cash and a 100% ownership stake in a spin-off exploration company. Penmont would pay Canplats shareholders $4.20 share.
Now the ball is back in Goldcorp’s court. As Goldcorp noted in its own press release the day after Penmont’s bid, it has until Dec. 31, 2009 to decide if it wants to match Penmont’s offer. If it does, according to terms agreed to in November, Canplats must go with Goldcorp.
What is at stake is Canplat’s Camino Rojo project, about 50 km southeast of Goldcorp’s Penasquito mine, where the Represa deposit’s resource weighs in at 163.4 million tonnes grading 0.66 gram gold per tonne, 11.56 grams silver per tonne, 0.37% zinc and 0.19% lead.
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