Dec 12 (Reuters) – China’s Jiangxi Copper has raised its takeover offer for gold and copper miner SolGold to 28 pence per share, valuing the company at about 842 million pounds ($1.13 billion), the companies said on Friday.
SolGold’s board said it is “minded to recommend” the revised proposal to shareholders if Jiangxi makes a firm offer on those terms.
SolGold’s London-listed shares, which had risen nearly 8% since the offers were first disclosed on November 28, fell more than 5% on Friday following the announcement.
A sharp rise in gold prices this year, fuelled by geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, has lifted the demand for safe-haven assets like bullion and spurred interest in consolidation across the sector.
The revised cash offer marks Jiangxi Copper’s third non-binding proposal to acquire the Ecuador-focused miner. It represents a 7.7% increase from its previous 26 pence per share offer, which SolGold rejected last month.
($1 = 0.7469 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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