Noront Resources has agreed to accept the “superior” offer by Wyloo Metals—controlled by billionaire Andrew Forrest—in a deal that values the Canadian nickel miner at C$321 million ($260 million), trumping the offer from rival BHP Group.
Wyloo’s offer of C$0.70 a share represents a 27% premium to the C$0.55 bid made by BHP in July, the Toronto-based company said late Monday in a statement. BHP has five business days to match Wyloo’s offer, Noront said.
The Australian mining giants have been slugging it out to take control of Noront’s high-grade Canadian nickel deposits in the largely untapped region of Ontario known as the Ring of Fire, with Wyloo upping the ante last month when it raised its stake in Noront to 37% from 24%. Nickel is a key raw material used in making batteries for electric vehicles.
“The Ring of Fire is a long-term mining district with a present-day value that is impossible to accurately quantify,” Luca Giacovazzi, Head of Wyloo Metals, said in a statement.
For the rest of this article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanburgos/2021/10/19/australian-billionaire-andrew-forrests-wyloo-metals-beats-bhp-in-bidding-war-for-canadas-noront/?sh=4c4767e23a18