CBH Resources has revealed that major shareholder, Japan's Toho Zinc, has proposed a proportional takeover offer in response to the $213 million offer from Belgium's refining major, Nyrstar.
Shares in CBH were earlier today placed in a trading halt, saying only that it had received an alternative proposal to Nystar's offer.
Hours later, CBH said in a statement that the proposed $10 million share placement to Toho will not proceed and instead, Toho would make a proportional takeover offer to lift its interest in the target to not more than 49.9 per cent.
However, Toho's proposal to pay $57.5 million for a half share in the Rasp zinc-lead project in Broken Hill will still stand.
Toho is offering 25 cents per share, higher than the sweetened 19.5c per share Nyrstar is offering.
Toho, which recently increased its stake in CBH to 24.1 per cent, said it would not support Nyrstar's offer.
An independent committee of CBH directors is currently assessing the merits of both proposals from Toho and Nyrstar, with a recommendation to shareholders to be made soon.
Today's proportional bid continues the battle between Toho and Nyrstar for CBH's assets, particularly for the Rasp project, which was shelved in late 2008 when markets turned south.
Toho said today that Nyrstar's proposal would fail and that it therefore did not represent a "genuine or realistic alternative to the Rasp transactions".
Nyrstar had last week argued that its proposal provided certainty for the Rasp development, as the Toho proposal was unclear as to how CBH would fund its 50 per cent share of the capital cost.
In December last year, Nyrstar had proposed a takeover of CBH, offering 13.5c for each share.
However a month later, CBH said it had ceased talks with Nyrstar in favour of a binding $67.5 million deal with Toho Zinc, that included the Rasp transaction and the placement of 50 million shares at 20 cents each.
Last week, Nyrstar upped the ante, increasing its offer to 19.5c for each CBH share.
Shares in CBH are still in a trading halt, last trading at 17c.
