Tiger Resources says it will acquire the remaining 40 per cent shareholding in Société d'Exploitation de Kipoi for $118.6 million, to gain full ownership of its Kipoi copper project.
The share purchase would result in SEK becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiger, and raise its copper reserves to 737,000 tonnes.
Tiger already holds a 60 per cent interest in SEK, a Democratic Republic of Congo-listed company that holds the project assets and is the operator at Kipoi.
Tiger has already paid a $6.9 million deposit and said it would finance the rest of the cost price through a $19.5 million placement, a $53.9 million entitlement offer and a debt facility capped at $106.8 million.
“We believe the acquisition of the additional 40 per cent interest in SEK to be earnings-accretive and offers the opportunity to grow our business and cement our future in the DRC as a 50,000 tonne per year copper cathode producer,” Tiger managing director Bradley Marwood said.
Tiger said that once the transaction was completed, it would cede a 5 per cent interest in SEK to the DRC government, as part of the country’s mining laws and regulations.
“Kipoi has been the cornerstone of our business over the past seven years and together with our DRC business partners we are proud of our achievements,” Mr Marwood said.
“We see the potential to grow our business by focusing on near-mine exploration and sourcing plant feed from elsewhere in the Kipoi region, thus ensuring the mine should operate well into the next decade."
Tiger shares last traded at 30 cents per share at 1:15pm.