Alson’s Indophil takeover gets Aussie court approval

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court of Victoria has approved the takeover by Philippine-based Alsons Group of Australian miner Indophil Resources.

According to Indophil, a copy of the court order has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the acquisition scheme is now effective.

This development follows the approval given by the majority of Indophil shareholders for the all-cash acquisition offer by Alsons Group during a meeting held on Dec. 18, 2014.

The Alsons Group –  through its unit Alsons Prime Investments Corporation (APIC) – offered to acquire all remaining issued shares in Indophil for A$0.30 apiece.

The offer represents a 43 percent premium over Indophil’s last closing price as of September 22. This values the Australian mining firm at A$361 million.

Indophil said shareholders as of the record date of Jan. 20, 2015 would receive A$0.30 cash for each share owned. The acquisition scheme is scheduled for implementation on Jan. 23, 2015, with payments to shareholders expected to be completed on Jan. 29, 2015.

APIC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alsons Group, is a vehicle firm used for subscribing to Indophil shares in 2012.

Indophil is already 30 percent owned by Filipino corporations. These include the Alsons group, through funding by BDO Unibank, the SM group, San Miguel Corporation and Philex Mining Corporation. APIC alone has a 19.99 percent stake in Indophil.

APIC’s acquisition of Indophil would hike its interest in the controversial $5.9 billion Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato, which is believed to be one of the largest copper and gold prospects in the world.

Indophil has a 37.5 percent stake in Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), the operator of the project, while Glencore Xstrata Plc. holds the remaining 62.5 percent interest in the project.

The Australian miner believes the proposed buyout would shield Indophil shareholders from development risks regarding the Tampakan project.

SMI is still struggling to get the Tampakan project past the approvals process because of permitting and agrarian reform issues. An interagency working group in the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) is working with SMI to resolve the challenges in the advancement of the project.

The Tampakan deposit contains an estimated 2.94 billion tons of mineral resource containing 15 million tons of copper and 18 million ounces of gold.

The prospective mine is projected to produce 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold per year in the initial mine-life of 17 years, with potential for mine-life extension.