Kaz Minerals owner tables £3.7bn bid to take miner private
Kaz Minerals has this morning received an increased £3.7bn offer from Nova Resources after an earlier bid was rejected.
Nova, which is led by Kaz chairman Oleg Novachuk, first made a 640p per share offer for the London-listed miner back in October.
However, due to a rise in global copper prices, the firm’s shares have bumped up since it was made.
That led minority shareholders to reject the first offer in the hope of an increased bid.
Novachuk came through this morning, raising his offer to 780p per share, a 22 per cent premium on the first bid.
The offer has been unanimously approved by Kaz’s independent committee.
The deal will see Novachuk, a Kazakh businessman who has been in charge of the firm since 2007, take control of the remaining 61 per cent of Kaz’s shares.
He said: “We are pleased to have reached agreement with KAZ Minerals’ Independent Committee as to the terms of a recommended transaction recognising the changing risk profile of the business.
“This increased offer represents a highly attractive return for KAZ Minerals ensuring they have the opportunity to realise in cash the value of their investment at a compelling valuation.”
Novachuk said that he had taken the firm private to focus on delivering the Baimskaya copper project back in Kazakhstan.