Endeavour Mining ends pursuit of Centamin after takeover talks fall through – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 14, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada-listed Endeavour Mining Corp. has dropped its pursuit of Centamin PLC after the two miners failed to reach agreement on terms of a takeover deal.

In December, London-based Endeavour tabled an informal all-stock proposal worth $2.5-billion that would have seen it pay a 13 per cent premium for Centamin. Endeavour, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, operates four mines in West Africa. Jersey-based Centamin operates a single gold mine in Egypt.

Endeavour had argued that Centamin would benefit from being part of a larger, and better diversified miner, and that the combined company would be more appealing to investors.

Endeavour also claimed that it would be a better manager of Centamin’s Sukari mine, which has struggled to transition from open-pit mining to underground. Endeavour had until later today to table a firm offer for Centamin, or walk away.

In a statement on Tuesday, Endeavour’s chief executive, Sebastian de Montessus, argued that the rationale for the takeover made sense, but he said the quality of information received during the due diligence process was “insufficient to allow us to be confident that proceeding with a firm offer would have been in the best interests of Endeavour shareholders.”

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/article-endeavour-mining-ends-pursuit-of-centamin-after-takeover-talks-fall/