19th Dec 2019 08:58
(Alliance News) - Endeavour Mining Corp urged Centamin PLC to extend the takeover offer deadline on Thursday, as the two struggle to come up with a pathway for a possible merger.
Canadian miner Endeavour said it has made a number of concessions to Egyptian gold miner Centamin, including signing a non-disclosure agreement "in good faith".
However, it has accused Centamin of being unwilling to "explore meaningfully" the benefits of a merger, given the "nature of the interaction" with Centamin.
Endeavour has until December 31 to decide whether to make a firm offer for Centamin. Endeavour at the start of December proposed a deal in which Centamin shareholders would get 0.0846 of an Endeavour share per Centamin share held, giving Centamin shareholders 47% of a combined company and valuing Centamin at GBP1.47 billion.
Centamin shares were 0.3% lower on Thursday morning in London at a price of 118.05p each, giving a market capitalisation of GBP1.36 billion.
Endeavour said it will not make a full offer until proper due diligence is done, which is not possible before December 31.
Thursday's announcement comes after Centamin on Wednesday said it was "disappointed" with Endeavour's behaviour.
Last weekend, Endeavour Chief Executive Sebastien de Montessus met with Centamin Chair Josef El-Raghy in Perth, Australia, to discuss the merger. They agreed due diligence was needed for both parties.
Centamin has said Endeavour will not provide the necessary information Centamin needs unless the deadline is extended.
"The Centamin board is disappointed that despite its efforts at constructive engagement, Endeavour has repeatedly refused to engage in a proper manner," Centamin had said Wednesday.
By George Collard; [email protected]
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