Centamin digs into Sheba for £7.5m
Gold miner Centamin Egypt has agreed an offer to buy Hereford-based Sheba Exploration for £7.48m.
PLUS-quoted Sheba owns and operates three gold and base metal exploration licences in Northern Ethiopia.
The deal was advised on by the Birmingham office of law firm Cobbetts.
Centamin said the deal is part of its strategy to grow its portfolio and diversify beyond its Sukari gold project in Egypt.
The offer, which values Sheba's shares at 6.15 pence each, has been unanimously backed by shareholders.
Josef El-Raghy, chairman of Centamin, said: "The strategic acquisition of Sheba marks the broadening of our asset portfolio beyond Sukari, as well as heralding our entry into Ethiopia, a highly prospective gold district where we believe the Sheba licences represent some of the most prospective in the country.
"Our understanding and experience in exploration and development in the Arabian Nubian Shield, together with Sheba’s operating history in Ethiopia since 1998, provides a compelling combination of growth and diversity for all shareholders.
"With this combination and our strong financial position we believe we can rapidly accelerate the development of Sheba’s projects. We look forward to working with the Sheba team and the government of Ethiopia in creating a sustainable and significant mining district in Ethiopia."
The offer is open for acceptance until 1 August 2011, said Centamin.
