- West African gold explorer Cardinal Resources (CDV) is surging in value yet again as two foreign entities continue to vie for its affection
- The latest development in the bidding war comes as Chinese state-owned Shandong Gold increased its bid to $1 per share for a full stake in Cardinal after Russia-based Nordgold upped its offer to 90 cents per share last week
- Nordgold initially offered just over 45 cents per share to buy up Cardinal, meaning its most recent offer is more than double the initial bid
- Cardinal has told shareholders to take no action while it processes the new offer from Shandong
- The latest bid will need at least 50.1 per cent of shareholders to vote in favour of the buyout for it to go ahead
- Shares in Cardinal are currently up by just over 10 per cent at an all-time high $1.03 per share
West African gold explorer Cardinal Resources (CDV) is surging in value yet again as two foreign entities continue to vie for its affection.
Chinese state-owned mining giant Shandong Gold Mining has upped the ante on its bid for ownership of Cardinal once more as the bidding war against Russian miner Nordgold continues to develop.
Shandong is now offering $1 per share for full ownership of Cardinal.
The fight for Cardinal
The Cardinal bidding war began in mid-March when Nordgold, which holds a 19.9 per cent interest in Cardinal, lobbed a bid to snap up all unowned shares for 45.78 cents a pop.
The offer was non-binding, and Cardinal told shareholders to take no action as it processed the news.
However, Shandong threw its hat in the ring on June 18 when it offered to buy Cardinal out for 60 cents a share — a 31.1 per cent premium on Nordgold’s offer.
In mid-July, Nordgold hit back with an offer of 66 cents per share. A week later, Shandong saw Nordgold’s bet and raised it to a 70-cent offer.
Then, just last week, the Russians raised the stakes again and offered 90 cents per share for full ownership of Cardinal. Once more, Cardinal told shareholders to take no action while it waited for Shandong to either make a counteroffer or throw in the towel.
Today, Shandong has told Cardinal it’s willing to cough up $1 per share for the buyout.
The waiting game
Under the conditions of the Shandong deal, at least 50.1 per cent of shareholders need to vote in favour of the buyout in order for it to go ahead.
Nevertheless, Cardinal has told shareholders yet again to take no action, despite the new Shandong offer eclipsing previous offers in the bidding war.
Cardinal said it is carefully considering the new Shandong offer and will update shareholders as soon as it can.
Shares in Cardinal are up a neat 10.2 per cent just before lunchtime AEST, currently worth an all-time high $1.03 each. The company’s share price has tripled since the start of 2020.