Australia’s leading independent law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth has advised OceanaGold Corporation (OceanaGold) (TSX: OGC, NYSE: OGC) on its proposed acquisition of ASX-listed Ausgold Limited (Ausgold) (ASX: AUC) by way of a scheme of arrangement, valuing Ausgold at approximately A$776 million.
Ausgold, a gold exploration and development company, is focused on the development of the Katanning Gold Project in Western Australia, a large-scale gold development project with significant exploration potential across more than 3,000km² of tenure in the Katanning Greenstone Belt.
The transaction will add the Katanning Gold Project to OceanaGold's portfolio of operating and development assets across the United States, New Zealand and the Philippines.
Under the terms of the transaction, Ausgold shareholders will receive OceanaGold shares with the option to elect a cash alternative, subject to a capped cash pool. Upon completion and subject to cash elections, Ausgold shareholders are expected to own approximately 6% to 8% of the combined group.
The scheme is unanimously recommended by the Ausgold Board, subject to customary qualifications including the absence of a superior proposal and a favourable independent expert's report.
The Corrs team was led by corporate partner Russell Philip and special counsel Jonathan Dos Santos, with support from a multidisciplinary team across the firm's energy & resources, competition, foreign investment, real estate, projects, environment & planning, employment, labour and safety, banking and finance and litigation practices.
Commenting on the matter Russell Philip said: “This is a significant transaction for OceanaGold and an important step in its expansion into the Australian market. The proposed acquisition will combine OceanaGold's significant operational and development expertise with a promising Australian gold development project, and highlights the strong global demand for high-quality Australian mining assets.
“We are proud to have supported OceanaGold on this milestone transaction, which further demonstrates Corrs' depth of experience advising on complex cross-border M&A in the resources sector."