Royalty Portfolio Update: Recommended Takeover Offer for Apollo Consolidated

Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR, FSX:5KV), the growth-focused mining royalty and streaming company, is pleased to note announcements, made on the 18 October 2021 by Apollo Consolidated Ltd. (“Apollo”) and ASX listed Ramelius Resources (“Ramelius”) relating to the proposed acquisition of Apollo by Ramelius (the “Transaction”).

Trident holds a 1.5% NSR gold royalty over Apollo’s flagship Lake Rebecca Gold Project (“Lake Rebecca” or the “Project”), in Western Australia. The royalty (the “Lake Rebecca Gold Royalty” or the “Royalty”) covers the entirety of the Project and its 1.1Moz Mineral Resource.

Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of Trident commented:

“Trident is pleased to note the announcement of the Transaction, which would see the Lake Rebecca Project acquired by Ramelius, a well capitalised, ASX listed mid-tier gold company with substantial existing producing gold centres in Western Australia. Ramelius views Lake Rebecca as a potential cornerstone asset and has indicated its intent to identify a pathway to a mine life of 10 years at a run rate of at least 100,000 ounces per annum, which is in excess of Trident’s original economic assessment. Ramelius has the in-house expertise within its established workforce to progress Lake Rebecca towards production, as well as the requisite operational expertise to maximise the value of the Project.

“Since Trident acquired the Royalty in September 2020, a significant number of activities have been undertaken which have added material value to Trident’s royalty. Such activities include upgrading of the Mineral Resource to its current 1.1Moz size, the discovery of additional, but yet to be classified material through numerous drilling programs, the acquisition of additional tenure to support mine planning and now the potential acquisition of Apollo by a well-funded mid-tier producer. Trident, via its royalty holding, enjoys the significant value added by these activities, with no further capital commitment.

“Trident identified Lake Rebecca as an attractive but under-appreciated development stage project with significant potential as part of its due diligence process. We are pleased to note the potential acquisition of Apollo which validates the attractiveness of Lake Rebecca, and Trident’s royalty. We look forward to completion of the Transaction and further advancement of Lake Rebecca under Ramelius’ stewardship.”

Ramelius Managing Director, Mark Zeptner, said of the offer:

“Lake Rebecca is an outstanding opportunity for Ramelius to add a key growth asset to its portfolio of producing assets at Mount Magnet and Edna May. The Apollo team has done an excellent job advancing Lake Rebecca to its current stage of development and have clearly demonstrated its potential for development into a high-quality gold mine in a tier-one gold mining jurisdiction.

“Subject to the Offer being successful, Ramelius is looking forward to ramping up the drilling program across the tenement package to expand the existing resource and ultimately developing Lake Rebecca into a cornerstone producing asset within our portfolio. Our strategic target for the Project is to identify a pathway to a mine life of 10 years at a run rate of at least 100,000 ounces per annum.

“We also look forward to welcoming Apollo shareholders as Ramelius shareholders and encourage Apollo shareholders to accept the Offer as soon as possible.”

PROPOSED TRANSACTION

Apollo and Ramelius have entered into a Bid Implementation Agreement (“BIA”), pursuant to which Ramelius will offer to acquire all the issued ordinary shares of Apollo by way of an off-market takeover offer. The offer, comprised of A$0.34 cash per share and 0.1375 Ramelius shares per Apollo share, represents an implied offer price of A$0.56 per share and a 35.9% premium to Apollo’s 10-day volume weighted average price.

The offer has been unanimously recommended by the Board of Directors of Apollo, in the absence of a superior offer, who have entered into binding agreements to accept the offer in respect of all Apollo shares they own or control. The offer is subject to terms and conditions standard for a transaction of this nature.

ABOUT RAMELIUS

Ramelius is an ASX listed gold producer (Ticker Code: RMS) with a market capitalisation of A$1.32B, cash and equivalents of A$234.0M and no debt. Ramelius operates two production centres at Mt Magnet and Edna May which produced a total of 272koz in FY21, with FY22 operating guidance set at 260-300koz.

News in full

CEO Adam Davidson recently provided an update of the business and its strategy below