(RTTNews) - Australia's OZ Minerals Ltd. (OZL.AX, OZMLY.PK) said that on 16 November 2022 it received a revised proposal from BHP Group Limited to acquire all shares in OZ Minerals for A$28.25 per share in cash. The OZL Board intends to unanimously recommend the revised proposal to OZL shareholders as being in the best interests of OZL shareholders in the absence of a superior proposal.
BHP has indicated that the offer price represents the best and final price it is willing to offer under the revised proposal, in the absence of a competing proposal.
The revised proposal of A$28.25 per share represents an enterprise value for OZ Minerals of A$9.6 billion; a 13.0% increase compared to the initial proposal of A$25.00 per share.
OZ Minerals Chairman, Rebecca McGrath, said "The Revised Proposal from BHP follows a period of Board-level engagement, securing a circa $1.1 billion increase to the Initial Proposal..."
The revised proposal also allows OZ Minerals to consider paying a dividend to shareholders prior to the transaction being implemented. The cash consideration price will be reduced by the cash component of any dividends or return of capital paid by OZ Minerals before the date of the implementation of the Revised Proposal.
OZ Minerals said that it has agreed to grant BHP the opportunity to conduct due diligence for four weeks on an exclusive basis and to work cooperatively towards entry into a scheme implementation agreement with BHP according to the terms of the Revised Proposal. The 4 week period is expected to commence on or around Monday 21 November 2022.
There is no guarantee that any transaction will eventuate or proceed at this stage, the companies said.
BHP said it expects to retain the vast majority of the OZL team who would become part of a much larger organisation with access to industry-leading employee benefits.
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