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- Altamin (AZI) wants to shoot down a $37.2 million takeover bid from VBS Exchange, claiming the offer undervalues its portfolio of projects in Italy
- VBS offered 9.5 cents per AZI share for full control of the base and battery metals explorer, valuing Altamin at $37.2 million
- Altamin says this price its materially lower than the average premiums paid in Australian corporate control deals and “significantly” undervalues its Gorno zinc project
- VBS is a major Altamin shareholder and holds a voting power of 19.73 per cent, but the Altamin board urged investors to reject the takeover bid
- Shares in Altamin are up 2.08 per cent to 9.8 cents each at 2:01 pm AEST.
Base and battery metals explorer Altamin (AZI) wants to shoot down a $37.2 million takeover bid from VBS Exchange, claiming the offer undervalues its portfolio of projects in Italy.
While VBS is yet to release an official target statement for the takeover bid, the Altamin board today urged shareholders to reject the offer.
The company said VBS’ cash offer of 9.5 cents per AZI share for full control of the company was a discount of 3.1 per cent to AZI’s highest market price in the month leading up to the VBS bid.
Further, the 9.5-cent price tag represents a 7.7 per cent premium to AZI’s one-month volume-weighted average price and a 14 per cent premium to its two-month volume-weighted average price.
“These premiums are materially below the average premiums paid in Australian corporate control transactions,” Altamin said in a statement to investors.
Further, Altamin said the $37.2 million offer price represented a “significant” discount to the net present value of its flagship Gorno zinc project in Italy’s Bergamo province.
In a 2021 scoping study for Gorno, the project’s net present value sat at US$211 million (A$300 million), according to Altamin.
What’s more, this valuation was based on a zinc price of US$2850 per tonne. For the past month, zinc has been trading upwards of US$4000 per tonne.
Altamin said on top of Gorno, it had accumulated an “attractive” portfolio of projects in Italy, including the Punta Corna cobalt project, and had a growing list of exploration licence (ELs) applications, some of which are related to lithium and brine.
“Despite these ELs being highly prospective and the premiums currently associated with lithium projects, VBS has made no mention of these assets in its bidder’s statement,” Altamin said.
VBS, which is part of the Victor Smorgon Group, is a major Altamin shareholder and holds a voting power of 19.73 per cent.
Shares in Altamin were up 2.08 per cent to 9.8 cents each at 2:01 pm AEST. The company has a $37 million market cap.
