New Highland Gold owner announces compulsory acquisition of outstanding shares
MOSCOW. Nov 18 (Interfax) - Vladislav Sviblov's Fortiana has announced the compulsory acquisition of outstanding shares from minority shareholders in Highland Gold Mining (HGM).
HGM said in a statement filed with the LSE that it had amassed more than 90% of shares in the voluntary offer and was now entitled to announce a compulsory offer.
The voluntary offer at £3 per share expires in November 19. Fortiana will at the same price compulsorily buy out any shareholders who have not accepted the offer and who have not applied to the court in respect of all of their holding of HGM shares by six weeks from the date of the compulsory acquisition notices.
Fortiana intends shortly to dispatch formal compulsory acquisition documentation notices to HGM shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer.
It emerged at the end of July that Fortiana had agreed to buy 40.06% of shares in HGM from Roman Abramovich, Eugene Shvidler and their business associates for £3 per share. At the first stage, Fortiana received 23.95% and was supposed to receive the remainder following approval of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Fortiana later announced that it had obtained the approval of the FAS and had begun buying the remaining 16.11%.
So far the holders of 53.96% of shares have accepted the offer. Fortiana now owns 94.02% of Highland Gold's issued share capital and 90.02% in nominal value of the HGM shares to which the offer relates.
HGM is valued at more than £1.1 billion or $1.4 billion. Fortiana has said it is raising financing from state bank VTB for the deal