Hong-Hong listed Minmetals Resources has announced a $6.3 billion takeover bid for dual-listed copper miner Equinox Minerals Ltd
(ASX:EQN)Minmetals is a subsidiary of the China Minmetals Corporation and currently holds a 4.2 per cent interest in Equinox.
The all-cash offer of $7 per share represents a 33 per cent premium to the 20 day trading value weighted average price of Equinox.
The offer is however conditional on the termination of the Equinox’s hostile bid for Canadian-listed Lundin Mining.
Minmetals CEO Andrew Michelmore says the company’s offer provides a substantial premium and certainty of value for Equinox as well as a superior alternative to the company’s proposed acquisition of Lundin.
In the 2010 calendar year Equinox Minerals recorded a net profit $265 million, rebounding from a loss the year before.
