SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Fortuna Silver Mines Inc., a TSX/NYSE-listed precious metals mining company, has announced its intention to acquire Chesser Resources Limited. Under the binding scheme implementation deed, Fortuna will acquire all fully paid ordinary shares in Chesser, subject to various conditions.
The scheme is recommended by the Chesser board and is subject to approval by shareholders at a Scheme meeting expected to be held in August 2023.
The Managing Director of Chesser, Andrew Grove, said the board believes the opportunity to combine with Fortuna represents an attractive outcome. This transaction will provide a substantial immediate premium and greater liquidity to Chesser shareholders while giving them exposure to a successful intermediate precious metals producer with a diversified production profile, mine development expertise, and strong access to capital. The transaction will also benefit local stakeholders in Senegal with greater certainty around the future development of Diamba Sud, he added.
Upon implementation of the scheme, Chesser shareholders will own approximately 5.1% of the Fortuna shares on issue. Fortuna will provide 0.0248 Fortuna shares per Chesser share for all Chesser shares on issue as at the record date for the scheme. The acquisition will be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement pursuant to Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The implied consideration of A$0.142 per Chesser share values Chesser at approximately A$89 million on a fully diluted basis.
Jorge A. Ganoza, President & CEO of Fortuna, commented that Diamba Sud is located in the highly productive Senegal-Mali shear zone, close to world-class gold mines. The advancement of Diamba Sud will benefit from Fortuna’s technical and operational strength and lower cost of capital. The transaction is aligned with Fortuna’s strategy to bring high-value exploration and development opportunities in regions where it is established, he added.
Fortuna has four producing mines in Peru, Argentina, Mexico, and Burkina Faso and a fifth project in Cote d’Ivoire, which is currently being commissioned with the first gold pour anticipated this month, May 2023. The transaction is subject to conditions that are customary for a transaction of this nature and other conditions described in further detail in the scheme implementation deed.
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