Smorgon makes $37m play for Altamin

Altamin shares were catapulted to a 12-month high on the back of an unsolicited off-market takeover attempt from its largest backer.

The South Perth-based explorer told shareholders to take no action in response to the 9.5 cents per share offer, which sent the company’s share price up 45 per cent to the 10-cent mark during the trading day.

The  $37.2 million proposal was led by major Altamin shareholder VBS Exchange, a subsidiary of Melbourne billionaire Victor Smorgon’s namesake investment house.

VBS Exchange owns approximately 19.7 per cent of Altamin and is seeking to acquire all of the fully paid shares it does not already own in the business.

In acquiring Altamin it would gain control of the explorer’s Gorno Zinc project and Punta Corna Cobalt project in Italy, the company’s two main assets.

The company changed its name from Energia Minerals to Alta Zinc in December 2017, and then to Altamin on 29 November 2021.

“As the VBS Takeover Offer was not solicited by the Company, it will need to be considered in detail by the Board of Altamin and its advisors before a formal recommendation is made to Altamin shareholders,” Altamin said in a statement to the ASX.

It noted that the 9.5 cents per share offer was a 14 per cent premium on AZI’s two month volume weighted average price (VWAP) and a 7.7 per cent premium on its one month VWAP.

The offer is expected to remain open for a month, with Lisle Group and Gilbert +Tobin advising Altamin on the potential deal.

The takeover attempt comes just over a week after Victor Smorgon Group took up a 20 per cent stake in Leichhardt Industrial's $280 million solar salt project in the Pilbara.

At 3:05pm AEST, Altamin shares were up by 27.5 per cent to trade at 9.9 cents.