MANITOU GOLD INC. (TSX-V: MTU) ("Manitou") is pleased to announce
that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement (the
"Agreement") dated February 28, 2023 pursuant to which Alamos Gold
Inc. (TSX: AGI, NYSE: AGI) (“Alamos”) will acquire all of the
outstanding common shares of Manitou ("Manitou Shares") not already
owned by Alamos, by plan of arrangement for deemed consideration of
C$0.05 per Manitou Share (the "Arrangement"), representing a total
transaction value of approximately C$17.2 million (including shares
already owned by Alamos).
The consideration will be satisfied by the
issuance of common shares of Alamos ("Alamos Shares") at a deemed
price of C$14.18 per Alamos Share, which is based on the 20-day
volume weighted price of the Alamos Shares on the Toronto Stock
Exchange ("TSX") immediately preceding the execution of the
Agreement. The Arrangement is non-arm's length as Alamos currently
owns 65,211,077 Manitou Shares, representing approximately 19% of
the issued and outstanding Manitou Shares.
Transaction Terms
Under the terms of the Arrangement, holders of
Manitou Shares will receive, one Alamos Share for every 283.68
Manitou Share held (the "Exchange Ratio"), which represents a 100%
premium to the closing price of Manitou Shares on the TSX Venture
Exchange (the "TSX-V") on February 27, 2023.
Benefits to Manitou
Shareholders
- Attractive premium of 100% to the
closing price of the Manitou shares on the TSX-V on February 27,
2023, ranking the Proposed Transaction in the top quartile of
precedent acquisitions of publicly traded gold explorers/developers
since 2015.
- Eliminates the need to raise
capital to continue to fund future exploration expenses and
overhead costs.
- Maintains ongoing exposure to
Manitou's land package in a more diversified company, providing
greater potential for subsequent value creation opportunities
through a broader consolidated operation in the Archean Gold
Camp.
- Provides for retained interest in
Alamos Shares, which is a premier, low-risk, North American-focused
intermediate gold producer with a portfolio of high-quality mines
and development projects, a strong balance sheet, fully funded
growth profile and commitment to return capital to
shareholders.
- Access to Alamos's technical
expertise and in-depth knowledge of geological structures and
mineralization in the area, providing capacity to drastically
accelerate the exploration and advancement of the Goudreau
Project.
- Leverages Alamos's strong financial
position and robust free cash flow generation to advance the
Goudreau Project without further equity dilution to Manitou
shareholders.
- Provides Manitou shareholders with
an enhanced institutional investor following and improved trading
liquidity through the ownership of Alamos Shares.
- Potential for value accretion
through a re-valuation in Alamos's share price as Alamos continues
to expand its combined asset portfolio.
"Five years ago, Manitou identified an
opportunity to acquire and consolidate a valuable land package
within the Michipicoten Archean Greenstone Belt where exploration
could then be undertaken with a view to discovering and developing
a large-scale economic gold deposit. Having successfully acquired
over 360 km2 of contiguous exploration claims and proven its
exploration prospectivity over the last five years, we are
confident that Alamos is the right operator to advance our assets
through the next stages of exploration and development,” stated
Richard Murphy, President, CEO and Director of Manitou. “Our
management team and board of directors view this transaction as
beneficial for all Manitou shareholders. It provides immediate
value and the opportunity to continue to benefit as part of an
established and well financed gold producer.”
Commenting on the transaction, John A.
McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alamos stated:
“Since our acquisition of Island Gold in 2017, much of our focus
has been on near mine drilling where we have had tremendous success
discovering more than four million ounces of high-grade Mineral
Reserves and Resources. Through our acquisition of Manitou, we are
more than tripling our land package along strike from Island Gold
where we see excellent potential for additional high-grade
discoveries across the prospective Michipicoten Greenstone
Belt.”
Transaction Conditions &
Timing
Manitou intends to convene a special meeting of
shareholders to be held in May 2023 to seek shareholder approval
for the Arrangement (the "Meeting"). The transaction will be
effected by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under
Section 182 of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and will
require:
- approval of at least 66 2/3% of the
votes cast by Manitou shareholders at the Meeting; and
- a simple majority of the votes cast
by Manitou shareholders, excluding votes from certain shareholders,
including Alamos, as required under Multilateral Instrument
61-101.
The completion of the transaction is also
subject to the receipt of court, stock exchange and any other
required regulatory approvals, and is subject to certain customary
closing conditions for transactions of this nature. The Arrangement
does not require the approval of the shareholders of Alamos.
The directors and senior officers and certain
other shareholders of Manitou, holding in aggregate over 16% of the
issued and outstanding Manitou Shares, have entered into voting
support agreements with Alamos, pursuant to which they have agreed
to vote their Manitou Shares in favour of the transaction. Together
with Manitou Shares already owned or held by Alamos, in excess of
35% of Manitou's issued and outstanding shares would be voted in
support of the Arrangement.
The transaction is expected to close in May
2023.
Warrants and Options
Pursuant to the Arrangement, each Manitou stock
option (each, a "Manitou Option") outstanding immediately prior to
the effective time of the Arrangement (the "Effective Time") shall
automatically vest and be immediately cancelled without any payment
by Alamos. Each Manitou warrant (each, a "Manitou Warrant")
immediately outstanding prior to the Effective Time will remain
outstanding and, following the Effective Time, shall entitle the
holder thereof to acquire Alamos Shares in lieu of Manitou Shares
based on the Exchange Ratio.
Advisors and Counsel
Hillcrest Merchant Partners is acting as
exclusive financial advisor to the Manitou Special Committee and
Fogler, Rubinoff LLP is acting as legal advisor to Manitou in
connection with the transaction. Red Cloud Securities Inc. prepared
the Fairness Opinion in connection with the transaction.
Alamos has engaged Torys LLP as its legal
advisor in connection with the transaction.
Fairness Opinion and
Recommendation
Red Cloud Securities Inc. (“Red Cloud”) was
engaged by Manitou to prepare an opinion (the “Fairness Opinion”)
as to the fairness of the Arrangement, from a financial point of
view, to Manitou shareholders (other than Alamos). The special
committee of independent directors of Manitou (the “Special
Committee”) has received the Fairness Opinion from Red Cloud, which
states that, based upon and subject to the limitations, assumptions
and qualifications of and other matters considered in connection
with the preparation of such opinion, the consideration to be
received by Manitou shareholders (other than Alamos) pursuant to
the Arrangement is fair, from a financial perspective, to Manitou
shareholders (other than Alamos).
Following its review and in consideration of,
amongst other things, the Fairness Opinion, the Special Committee
has unanimously recommended that the board of directors of Manitou
approve the Arrangement. The Manitou board, following the receipt
and review of recommendations from the Special Committee, has
approved the Agreement and has concluded that the Arrangement is
fair to shareholders of Manitou (other than Alamos) and is in the
best interests of Manitou, and recommends to shareholders that they
vote in favour of the Arrangement.
The Agreement has also been unanimously approved
by the board of directors of Alamos.
Additional Information
Full details of the Arrangement are set out in
the Agreement, which will be filed by Manitou under its profile on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com. In addition, further information regarding
the Arrangement will be contained in a management information
circular to be prepared in connection with the Meeting and filed on
www.sedar.com at the time that it is mailed to shareholders. All
shareholders are urged to read the management information circular
once it becomes available as it will contain additional important
information concerning the Arrangement.
About Manitou Gold
Manitou Gold Inc. is a Canadian exploration
company that has consolidated over 360 km2 of prospective gold
properties on the Michipicoten Archean Greenstone Belt, between the
Island Gold Mine (operated by Alamos Gold Inc.) to the west and, to
the east, the former producing Renabie Gold Mine, (owned by Barrick
Gold). The lands assembled consist of 37 kilometres of strike
length with at least seven under-explored large-scale deformation
zones showing favorable lithology supported by more than 50
government-documented and registered gold occurrences. Manitou Gold
also owns a 148 km2 land package of highly prospective gold
properties located in the historical Gold Rock District, in
Northwestern Ontario (Dryden). All scientific and technical
information contained in this press release has been prepared under
the supervision of Richard Murphy, the President and Chief
Executive Officer of Manitou and a "qualified person" within the
meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
Contacts
Manitou Gold Inc.
Richard MurphyPresident and CEO(705)
698-1962www.manitougold.com
Completion of the Arrangement is subject to a
number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSX-V
acceptance and disinterested shareholder approval. The Arrangement
cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained.
There can be no assurance that the Arrangement will be completed as
proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as
disclosed in the management information circular to be prepared in
connection with the Arrangement, any information released or
received with respect to the Arrangement may not be accurate or
complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities
of Manitou should be considered highly speculative. The TSX Venture
Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed
Arrangement and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents
of this news release.
Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking
Statements and Information
Certain of the information contained in this
news release constitutes ‘forward-looking statements' within the
meaning of securities laws. Such forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to statements relating to: the
transaction and the proposed Arrangement as proposed to be effected
pursuant to the Agreement; the ability of the parties to satisfy
the conditions to closing of the Arrangement; the mailing of the
management information circular in connection with the Meeting and
anticipated timing thereof; and the anticipated timing of the
completion of the Arrangement, involve risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among others, obtaining required
shareholder, court, third party and regulatory approvals, exercise
of any termination rights under the Agreement, meeting other
conditions in the Agreement, material adverse effects on the
business, properties and assets of Manitou, and whether any
superior proposal will be made. Although Manitou has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be
as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Manitou does not undertake
to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with
applicable securities laws.
The forward-looking statements in this press
release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause Manitou's actual results, performance and
achievements to be materially different from the results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither
TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined
in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this press release
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
None of the securities to be issued pursuant to
the transaction have been or will be registered under the United
States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities
Act"), or any state securities laws, and any securities issuable in
the transaction are anticipated to be issued in reliance upon
available exemptions from such registration requirements pursuant
to Section 3(a)(10) of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable
exemptions under state securities laws. This press release does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy
any securities.
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