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Pallinghurst to Delist Gemfields by End of July
Jul 16, 2017 8:29 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Private-equity firm
Pallinghurst Resources plans to delist colored-gemstone miner Gemfields from London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) by the end of July after nearly 90% of Gemfields
shareholders accepted its takeover offer.
Pallinghurst said
it intends to exercise its rights to acquire all remaining
Gemfields shares, subject to reaching the requisite threshold. The investment group has also started preparations to obtain its own premium listing on the London
Stock Exchange.
“The
revitalization of Gemfields’ operations is urgently needed given Gemfields’
tight financial circumstances,” said Pallinghurst CEO Arne Frandsen.
“With debt levels
at Gemfields at an all-time high, the need for conservative financial
management is evident. That said, further investments in the operations will be
sought to secure profitable expansion and growth as stated in our offer
document as we develop Gemfields fully as the De Beers of colored gemstones,”
he continued.
In June, Pallinghurst received backing from its owners to
acquire Gemfields, paving the way for it to move forward with the deal after
the only other bidder dropped out.
Pallinghurst, Gemfields’ largest investor, won a 96% mandate
from its own shareholders to buy the miner at a meeting on the island of Guernsey. A rival offer from China’s Fosun Gold lapsed after most
Gemfields shareholders accepted Pallinghurst’s offer.
Pallinghurst took control of Gemfields in 2008 by selling the
Kagem emerald mine in Zambia to the company in return for shares. The deal made Pallinghurst and its co-investors the majority
shareholders of Gemfields, which expanded into ruby mining in 2012 by acquiring
the Montepuez deposit in Mozambique.
In 2013, the miner bought jeweler Fabergé from Pallinghurst
for $142 million, which brought the equity firm’s share in Gemfields to 47%. |
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Tags:
Arne Frandsen, China, colored-gemstone, Fabergé, Fosun Gold, Gemfields, Kagem, Montepuez, Mozambique, Pallinghurst, Pallinghurst Resources, Rapaport News, zambia
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