Just when Tietto Minerals thought they could breathe easy after the commencement of production at the Abujar gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire last January, along comes Zhaojin with an offer, a seemingly insufficient offer. Tietto wasted no time raising their objections, recommending its shareholders to spurn Zhaojin’s advances, claiming the offer grossly underestimated the company and its linchpin project.
Tietto did not mince words, slamming Zhaojin for mischievously choosing this moment to come calling, right after their flagship mine showed its potential for greatness.
In a record date filing from November, Tietto revealed that Grant Thornton, an independent expert deemed the fair value of its shares to hover in the range of A$0.79-A$0.93. This valuation pegged the company’s worth at an impressive A$1.1 billion – a far cry from Zhaojin’s bid, which dangled unimpressively at around A$629 million.
Unfazed by the backlash, Zhaojin stands by its proposal, asserting that it fairly values the company and its assets. Moreover, the company has already obtained the nod from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board for this transaction. The repeated deadline extensions hint at Zhaojin’s dogged pursuit to sway shareholders into accepting the deal.
With the proverbial carrot being dangled for even longer, the offer now holds sway until 7 p.m. Sydney time on Friday, March 8, 2024, unless Zhaojin decides to further extend or pull out of the deal, as announced by Zhaojin on Thursday. The saga continues.
