Lion-Asia Resources has sweetened its offer for Australian mineral explorer Polaris Metals NL
(ASX:POL).
The company is now offering Polaris shareholders 70 cents cash for every Polaris share, compared to its previous offer of 60 cents a share.
Lion-Asia’s improved offer comes after Mineral Resources increased its offer for Polaris last Thursday, offering one of its shares for every 12 Polaris shares and five cents for every one Polaris share, valuing Polaris at 65.33 cents a share.
Lion-Asia says it also intends to make a separate offer for all Polaris options on issue with an exercise price of less than 70 cents.
The Polaris board says it considers the sweetened offer to be superior to that of Mineral Resources but recommends that shareholders do nothing at this time.
Polaris says that while it believes the combination of itself with Mineral Resources would deliver significant synergies, the Lion-Asia offer provides the certainty of cash for shareholders and option-holders at a price that compensates them appropriately for the change in control.
Polaris Metals has posted net losses in the last five years.
