LONDON: Ashington Innovation plc, a special purpose acquisition company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has entered into exclusive non-binding heads of terms to acquire World Metal Group Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based urban mining specialist, in a deal that could value the target at approximately £160 million, a statement said.
The proposed acquisition would see Ashington acquire the entire issued share capital of a newly incorporated Cayman Islands holding company, World Metal Group Limited, which would be interposed above WMG through a pre-acquisition reorganisation. The holding company would own WMG and its two operating subsidiaries, World Metal Recovery Pte. Ltd. and World Metal Industries Pte. Ltd.
The consideration is expected to be satisfied through the issuance of new ordinary shares in Ashington to WMG’s current shareholders, with the majority sellers subject to a 12-month lock-in period following completion, plus an additional 12-month orderly market period.
SPARK Advisory Partners has been appointed as sponsor and financial adviser for the transaction and the subsequent admission to the Official List’s commercial companies category.
“I am pleased to confirm Ashington has secured exclusive heads of terms to acquire World Metal Group, a leading Singapore-based vertically integrated urban mining specialist,” said Peter Presland, chairman of Ashington Innovation. “Following extensive target reviews consistent with our special purpose acquisition company strategy, WMG aligns perfectly with our objective to bring a robust, scalable growth business to London’s capital markets and deliver long-term shareholder value.”
The acquisition, which would constitute an “initial transaction” under UK Listing Rules, is conditional upon completion of due diligence, execution of a definitive share purchase agreement, shareholder approval, a Rule 9 waiver from the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, and admission to trading.
Ashington has requested a temporary suspension of its existing listing on the Official List’s shell companies category, effective from 7:30 a.m. today, citing insufficient publicly available information about the transaction and the enlarged group. The suspension will remain in place until the company publishes a prospectus in relation to the proposed acquisition.
About World Metal Group
Founded in 2006 with multi-generational industry heritage dating to the late 1970s, WMG operates a complete end-to-end recycling value chain spanning scrap and e-waste collection, sorting, pre-processing, precious metal recovery and refining. The company has developed infrastructure in Singapore supported by specialist equipment from Germany, Australia, Japan and China.
WMG differentiates itself through its focus on sustainable, fully traceable recycled “green metals,” having developed product-level traceability functionality that enables full visibility of feedstock origin and chain-of-custody records. The company serves international demand across electronics, jewellery and industrial manufacturing sectors, with global brands increasingly prioritising low-carbon, responsibly sourced recycled metal inputs.
The company has clear scalable regional expansion plans across Southeast Asia in the short to medium term, according to the announcement.
The parties intend to proceed as quickly as possible with the pre-acquisition reorganisation and proposed acquisition, though Ashington cautioned that there can be no certainty the transaction will be successfully completed, nor as to its final terms. If binding terms are agreed, the company said it will make a further announcement.
