Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-12-25 01:53Core Viewpoint - Jiangxi Copper (600362.SH) announced a formal offer to acquire SolGold plc at a price of 28 pence per share, valuing the target company's total issued and to be issued share capital at approximately £867 million [1][2]. Group 1: Acquisition Details - The acquisition is set to be completed on December 24, 2025, London local time, through Jiangxi Copper's wholly-owned subsidiary, Jiangxi Copper Hong Kong Investment [1]. - The offer price represents a premium of approximately 42.9% over SolGold's closing price of 19.6 pence on November 19, 2025, the last trading day before discussions began [2]. - The board of SolGold unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the acquisition at the court meeting and the general meeting [1]. Group 2: Shareholder Support - Jiangxi Copper Hong Kong Investment has received irrevocable commitments from major shareholders, including BHP, Newmont, and Maxit Capital LP, to vote in favor of the acquisition, representing a total of 773,642,395 shares, approximately 25.7% of SolGold's issued share capital [1]. - Additionally, commitments from SolGold's directors for their shares total 83,597,123 shares, representing about 2.8% of the issued share capital [1]. Group 3: Project Overview - SolGold, established in 2006 and headquartered in Perth, Australia, is a mineral exploration and development company listed on the London Stock Exchange [2]. - The core asset of SolGold is the Cascabel project in Ecuador, which is recognized as one of the world's most promising undeveloped copper mines, with proven copper resources exceeding 20 million tons and gold resources over 10 million ounces [4]. - The Cascabel project has a high grade of 0.7%, compared to the global average copper mine grade of 0.5% [4]. Group 4: Industry Context - According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global copper demand is expected to reach 36 million tons by 2030, a 53% increase from 2020, while the supply side faces a "depletion crisis" with a 60% decline in the discovery of large copper mines over the past decade [4]. - The copper market is projected to experience a supply gap of 500,000 tons by 2026, indicating a future competition for existing copper resources [4]. - In 2023, precious metal prices have surged, with gold surpassing $4,500 per ounce and silver nearing $72 per ounce, while copper prices have also reached historical highs [4].