SPECIAL REPORT: The mergers and acquisitions market was eventful in the March quarter, with Chinese and private equity investors to the fore, multiple WA businesses on the block, and a surprise advisory switch on a key takeover.
Niobium explorer Cradle Resources has recommended shareholders accept a takeover offer from joint venture partner Tremont Investments, which values the target at $55 million.
Perth-based GR Engineering Services has won a $36 million contract to design and build a processing facility in Queensland for private equity-backed Auctus Resources.
Private equity group Auctus Chillagoe looks set to gain control of Atherton Resources, after major shareholders said they would vote in favour of the improved $56 million offer.
Private equity groups are on track to gain control of two mining operations, after Aditya Birla Minerals sold its mothballed Mt Gordon operation, while Atherton Resources looks set to be acquired in a takeover valued at about $56 million.
The private equity group seeking control of Mungana Goldmines has lifted its takeover bid to 17 cents per share, above recent trading levels but below the valuations of the company's independent expert.
THE launch this month of independent oil and gas producer Quadrant Energy has underlined the big role private equity investors play in Western Australia, owning more than a dozen major businesses a
Mungana Goldmines has told its shareholders to reject a 13.5 cents a share takeover offer from Auctus Chillagoe, an entity led by former Karara Mining boss Steve Murdoch, saying it undervalues the company and its assets.
GREG Evans has got off to a flying start in his new role as KPMG's global leader of mining M&A, with one of the firm's major clients announcing its first takeover bid last week.
Shares in resources developer Mungana Goldmines have shot up 33 per cent today after an off-market takeover proposal backed by private equity group Denham Capital.
Standout junior explorers are finding investors for their mining projects, while others are cutting back on exploration and development to counteract a tough corporate finance market and increased government fees.
Western Australian resources companies are increasingly looking to private equity players for funding as an alternative to traditional capital raisings, with more than $300 million in deals just this month.
Perth-based uranium explorer and developer Toro Energy has secured a $10 million cash injection from global investor The Sentient Group, with a further $10 million to directly fund Toro's Wiluna project still to come.
Global private equity group Denham Capital has teamed up with former Karara Mining chief executive Steve Murdoch to establish a venture that will invest in a handful of new and established mining projects.
The Gina Rinehart-backed Sun Resources has purchased a stake in oil and gas leases in the prospective Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk shale formations in the American state of Texas.
Private equity fund Denham Capital has launched its first Australian mining investment, committing $200 million to newly-formed coal venture Pembroke Resources in a deal spearheaded by the firm's Perth-based mining team.
SPECIAL REPORT: The past 12 months have been tough for WA's corporate finance professionals, but there is cautious optimism that 2014 will be a different story.
BOSTON-BASED private equity fund Denham Capital is shifting its Asia Pacific head office to Perth to support a planned increase in mining sector investments. With $US7.3 billion of invested and committed capital, Denham has the capacity to shake-up the local capital market.
