West Perth-based Anatolia Energy has announced a friendly merger with a Nasdaq-listed uranium miner, with the two companies planning to focus on developing Anatolia’s Temrezli uranium project in Turkey.
West Perth-based Anatolia Energy has announced a friendly merger with a Nasdaq-listed uranium miner, with the two companies planning to focus on developing Anatolia’s Temrezli uranium project in Turkey.
Under the terms of the scheme of arrangement with Colorado-based Uranium Resources, Anatolia shareholders will be offered 11.5 cents for every share they own in the business, which values the deal at about $35.6 million.
The offer price is a 29.1 per cent premium based on each company’s most recent closing price, and a 47.3 premium to their 30-day volume weighted average prices.
If the deal is successful, Anatolia shareholders will own about 40.6 per cent of the merged company, which will be based in Colorado and remain listed on the Nasdaq, and will seek listing on the ASX as Uranium Resources.
The combined companies will own two 800,000 pounds per annum uranium processing plants in South Texas, exploration ground of about 6,880 hectares in Texas, 78,914ha in New Mexico, and 18,211ha in Turkey, combined cash of more than $13.5 million, and a combined market cap of $88.7 million.
“The merger with Uranium Resources provides an excellent solution to Anatolia’s current objectives to advance Temrezli into production as quickly and efficiently as possible, and brings with it the possibility of greatly reducing the upfront capital costs if we can successfully relocate and utilise Uranium Resources’ Rosita processing plant in Texas as currently expected,” Anatolia managing director Paul Cronin said.
“The Rosita processing plant is fit for our Temrezli project, and has the added benefit of already being designed and constructed with the ability to scale up the production profile from 800,000 pounds per annum to 1.6 million pounds per annum with some additional upgrades, which would accommodate potential future production from satellite operations that may feed into the Temrezli processing plant.”
Upon completion of the merger, the company’s board of seven will include two nominees from Anatolia, one of whom will be Mr Cronin.
The directors of Anatolia have recommended its shareholders vote in favour of the proposal, and it has already received firm commitments from its largest shareholders, Azarga Uranium Corporation, Sprott Resources and RMB Resources, which together own 25.6 per cent of the company’s shares.
Uranium Resources chief executive Christopher Jones said the combined company would target initial production at Temrezli to begin as soon as possible, aligning with analysts’ estimates for a uranium price recovery.
The Temrezli project has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 11.3 million pounds of uranium at an average grade of 1,240ppm.
Anatolia’s recent pre-feasibility results on the project estimated an all-in sustaining cost of $US30.12 per pound.
Anatolia is being advised by Hartleys as corporate adviser and Steinepreis Paganin as legal adviser.
Shares in Anatolia were 3.7 per cent higher at 8.3 cents each at 10:30am.
