Pharmanet to relist as gold company

Dormant Perth-based biotech company Pharmanet Group will re-emerge as a gold explorer after entering into an agreement to acquire Keras Australia by way of a reverse takeover.

Pharmanet told the market today it had signed an agreement to acquire Keras Australia, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AIM-listed Keras Resources.

The target company owns the Warrawoona gold project in the Pilbara, which comprises the Klondyke prospect.

Pharmanet will acquire the subsidiary in exchange for 225 million shares and 525 million performance shares, subject to the achievement of certain milestones, and relist on the ASX after rebranding the merged company as Calidus Resources.

The deal will require Pharmanet to comply with ASX relisting rules, and as such it will be required to undertake a minimum $7 million capital raising, with the price yet to be disclosed.

If the deal is successful, Calidus will begin trading on the ASX by June, with current Pharmanet directors Nicholas Young and Brendan de Kauwe to retire.

The board of Calidus will comprise recently retired Talga Resources chairman Keith Coughlan as non-executive chairman, with David Reeves to serve as managing director.

Peter Hepburn-Brown (of Focus Minerals and Keras Resources and previously managing director of Medusa Mining) and Adam Miethke (currently a Pharmanet director) will serve as non-executive directors.

Pharmanet shares haven’t traded since September 2014, but were last worth 30 cents each.