A key Mineral Deposits Ltd. shareholder is not too impressed with an A$291 million offer made by Eramet in April, Reuters reported June 8.
"At this stage we are not inclined to accept Eramet's current bid of A$1.46 per share," Simon Mawhinney, chief investment officer at Allan Gray Australia, told the newswire. Allan Gray Australia holds a 13.4% stake in Mineral Deposits.
Eramet made the offer for Mineral Deposits in late April, with the Mineral Deposits board subsequently recommending a rejection by shareholders, calling the bid "grossly inadequate."
The two companies are already close partners in a 50/50 joint venture in TiZir Ltd., a mineral sands company with titanium oxide and zircon assets in Norway and Senegal.
Mineral Deposits expects TiZir revenue to grow strongly in 2018, with a May 10 outlook for TiZir estimating 2018 revenue at US$317 million with free cash flow of US$49 million, both on a 100% basis.
