Takeover bid heats up for Aussie gold explorer

ASX-listed Chinese gold mining major Zhaojin has upped its unsolicited takeover bid of Tietto Minerals to the tune of $733 million.

Australian-based Tietto, of which Zhaojin is a key shareholder, today urged its shareholders to ‘take no action’ on the offer until it could be evalutated.

Zhaojin first made an offer on Tietto in October 2023 for $629 million which was swiftly declined, with Tietto saying in a statement at the time that the offer ‘materially undervalues the company’.

The latest offer is a 17 per cent boost on the previous, but it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to get Tietto to budge.

However, Tietto did refer to the recent boost in gold prices since its last valuation was conducted, which positioned the company at a value of $0.79–$0.93 per share.

With the implication pointing to a potentially higher valuation for Tietto, Zhaojin’s latest offer of $0.68 per share remains significantly below what the company would expect.

The announcement of Zhaojin’s move has seen Tietto’s share price jump 3.1 per cent today, hitting its highest level since April 2023.

Alongside the latest offer, Zhaojin announced its previous conditions of obtaining Chinese regulatory approvals have been met.

Though Chinese approval has been granted, the offer is still subject to a 50.1 per cent minimum acceptance condition by Tietto shareholders.

Tietto’s flagship Abujar gold project in western Côte d’Ivoire is West Africa’s newest gold mine, with first gold poured in January 2023.

Abujar has a mineral resource of 3.83 million ounces (Moz) of gold and ore reserves of 1.69Moz.

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