Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC) and Marathon PGM Corporation (TSX : MAR) jointly announced today the completion of the acquisition of Marathon PGM by Stillwater.
As a result, Stillwater acquired all outstanding shares of Marathon PGM pursuant to a plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The transaction was previously overwhelmingly approved by 99.98% of the Marathon PGM shareholders who voted in respect of the arrangement, was subsequently approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and then received ministerial approval under the Investment Canada Act.
Effective today, each common share of Marathon PGM has been exchanged for 0.112 common shares of Stillwater, C$1.775 cash and 0.5 common shares of Marathon Gold Corporation (MOZ:TSX) which will start trading at the opening of trading on December 3, 2010. Registered shareholders should follow the instructions in Marathon PGM's information circular dated October 15, 2010 in order to obtain the cash and the certificates representing the shares. The common shares of Marathon PGM will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange at the close of trading on December 2, 2010.
Commenting upon completion of the acquisition, Frank McAllister, Stillwater's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, noted, "The Marathon PGM/Copper Project will ensure Stillwater remains North America's leading PGM producer. Further, we have long recognized geographical and commodity diversification as important to our growth. The Project's location in Northwest Ontario, Canada and its copper resources fit nicely into this strategy."
McAllister continued, "With the transaction complete we look forward to working with the communities in and around Marathon, Ontario and with governmental authorities in moving the Project forward through environmental permitting to subsequent engineering and project development."
"We have achieved our biggest milestone to date with the closing of this transaction. Marathon's team has worked diligently over the years and it has benefitted all of our employees and shareholders. Every person involved with the project directly contributed to its success. We are at an exciting time as we look forward to the launching of Marathon Gold and are ready to get to work replicating our success," said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon PGM.
Source: MARATHON PGM CORPORATION