PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Takeover target Alto Metals has advised shareholders not to take any action after suitor Middle Island increased its takeover offering overnight.
Middle Island has increased its scrip offer for Alto from five Middle Island shares held for every one Alto share, to six Middle Island shares for every one Alto share.
The increased offer valued Alto shares at about 5.4c each, up from the initial 4.5c each, Middle Island said.
The new offer price represented a 93% premium to Alto’s closing price on February 28, before the initial offer was launched, and a 61% premium to the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price before the offer.
Alto on Friday told shareholders that its board was formulating a response to the increased offer, and has advised shareholders not to take any action.
Alto owns the Sandstone gold project, which is currently estimated to host some 261 000 oz of gold in the East Murchison mineral field of Western Australia.
Middle Island also owns a Sandstone project, with an estimated indicated and inferred mineral resource of 537 000 oz, and an exploration target of between 900 000 oz and 1.5-million ounces.
Middle Island has previously announced plans to integrate the two assets and immediately embark on an updated feasibility study to determine the economics of a gold processing plant.