KAZ Minerals' committee backs sweetened takeover bid valuing miner at £3.7B

Nova Resources BV increased its offer to acquire the shares in KAZ Minerals PLC that it does not own to 780 British pence per share, valuing the Kazakh copper miner at about £3.7 billion.

The latest bid represents a 22% premium to the original offer price of 640 pence per share that valued KAZ Minerals at about £3.0 billion. Nova is a consortium led by KAZ Minerals Chairman Oleg Novachuk and nonexecutive director Vladimir Kim, and it currently owns about 39.39% of the target.

The increased offer also represents a 54% premium to KAZ Minerals' six-month volume-weighted average price for the six-month period ended Oct. 27, 2020, the day before the initial offer was announced, according to a Feb. 4 news release.

An independent committee at KAZ Minerals unanimously recommended the improved offer. It had rejected Nova's revised bid of 730 pence per share, saying it undervalued the target.

Nova sweetened its offer after the independent committee notified the bidders that it may withdraw its previous recommendation unless they submit a better offer that reflected the recent surge in copper prices. KAZ Minerals shareholders RWC Partners Ltd. and CFC Management reportedly rejected the initial bid.

Nova and KAZ Minerals aim to complete the deal in the first half, after which the miner is expected to be delisted in London and Kazakhstan.