Ludin Mining’s proposed merger with Inmet Mining Corp may now face a new obstacle - a hostile takeover bid from Equinox Minerals. The Vancouver based company Ludin Mining said on Sunday that Equinox Minerals intends to make an unsolicited takeover bid for the company before Monday markets resume. It added that it had no clue of the terms of the bid and would not comment till it got the formal proposal.
The copper mining company, Equinox Minerals, which is listed in both Toronto and Australia has requested that its shares be not traded on the Australian Stock Exchange till the markets open on Monday pending the release of the announcement by the company.
If it succeeds then it will be the second deal for Equinox Minerals this year. It acquired the Citadel Resource group in January for $ 12 billion. The company has the biggest copper mine in Africa and with the Citadel acquisition added the largest copper deposit in Saudi Arabia to its inventory.
With Ludin Mining it will get viable operations in Portugal, Spain and Sweden besides an equity stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper cobalt mining operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The shares of the Equinox Minerals rose 11 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange to close at $6.27 on Friday.