Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE:TGR, OTCQX:TGRHF) has extended the long stop date for its acquisition of Suni Resources SA from Battery Minerals Limited out to 31 December 2022.
The extension follows variations to the acquisition agreement, which was originally announced on 17 August 2021.
An additional bank guarantee is being put in place, but the total consideration of AU$12.5mln and cash and shares split remain unchanged, save that the issue price for A$11mln consideration shares has been varied from a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price (VWAP) for the five trading days immediately preceding 17 August to 110% of the VWAP for the five trading days immediately preceding the completion date, and will be based on the exchange rate at the completion date.
A new floor on the number of shares that can be issued to satisfy the consideration has been set at 5,667,288 Tirupati shares and an upper cap has been set at 11,334,576 shares.
The completion of the acquisition will provide Tirupati with ownership of the advanced Montepuez and Balama Central graphite projects in Mozambique, alongside associated technical intellectual property related to the assets.
The completion of the acquisition is pending approval of the transaction by the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, which is being pursued by the parties.
The Montepuez and Balama Central projects are at advanced stage with one under construction and the other ready to build and comprise world-class reserves and resources.
"We are pleased that we have been able to secure exclusive rights to acquire the strategically important Montepuez and Balama Central deposits for an extended period while we wait for regulatory approvals to allow completion,” said Shishir Poddar, chief executive of Tirupati Graphite.
“In an increasingly hot graphite market, there was a real and growing risk that a more attractive rival bid would emerge during the approval period. These are world-class assets which will add around 152 million metric tonnes at 8.5% TGC to our existing resources in Madagascar supporting our ambition to become a global leader in flake graphite markets."
Separately, Tirupati announced results for the year to 31 March 2022 showing revenues of £1.65mln (£1.12mln) and a loss before tax of £1.96mln 9£1.28mln).
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