Latin Resources Ltd (ASX:LRS, OTC:LRSRF) managing director Chris Gale joins Proactive’s Jonathan Jackson after the board agreed to a takeover by Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) for approximately A$560 million. Under the terms of the deal, LRS shareholders will receive Pilbara Minerals shares at a 57% premium to LRS’s current share price.
Specifically, shareholders will receive 0.07 Pilbara Minerals shares per LRS share, valuing each LRS share at A$0.20. The transaction, structured as a scheme of arrangement, will result in Pilbara Minerals shareholders owning 93.6% of the combined entity, with LRS shareholders holding the remaining 6.4%.
The acquisition is a 100% scrip transaction, allowing Pilbara Minerals to maintain its strong net cash position. The deal offers immediate and longer-term benefits to LRS shareholders, including exposure to lithium production and a de-risked development of the Salinas Lithium Project, leveraging Pilbara Minerals’ expertise.
Gale supports the transaction, which the LRS board unanimously recommends. The company’s largest shareholder, José Luis Manzano, also plans to vote in favour of the scheme, pending an independent expert's review.
Gale has agreed to join Pilbara Minerals as a consultant for a 12-month period to provide leadership continuity at Salinas.