DLA Piper is advising SGX-listed Alliance Mineral Assets Limited (Alliance) on its announced merger with ASX-listed Tawana Resources NL (Tawana), positioning the company as a sizeable producer of high-demand lithium concentrate.
The planned merger is via a scheme of arrangement and upon respective shareholder votes and other approvals, Tawana will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alliance, with existing Alliance shareholders owning approximately 51% and existing Tawana shareholders owning approximately 49% of the merged entity. The merged entity will then seek admission to ASX to become dual listed on ASX and SGX. The transaction is expected to be completed by Q4, 2018.
Alliance and Tawana have been working together via a joint venture agreement since 2017 on the Bald Hill Project which encompasses the Bald Hill Mine, processing plant and an extensive tenement portfolio in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
With the merger, the new merged group will have a pro-forma market capitalisation of approximately AU$446 million, making it a mid-tier producer of lithium concentrate, a highly-sought after metal by manufacturers of long-life batteries for electric vehicles, and consumer electronics devices.
The DLA Piper team is being led by Perth-based Corporate partner Scott Gibson with senior associate Michael Ng, and solicitors Chris Bailey and Stephen Waddington. The previously announced AU$13 million debt facility included advice from others including Finance and Projects partners Alex Regan and Rhys Davies with solicitors John Flynn and Lydia Brisbout. An additional AU$25 million capital raising is also underway, with Scott Gibson and Michael Ng advising.
Scott Gibson said: "We are delighted to advise Alliance on this strategic merger, which will provide greater efficiencies, productivity and shared operational expertise to both organisations. This is a large-scale merger of equals, which will have a significant impact on the lithium minerals market in the region."
This latest transaction is one of three recently announced large-scale resources deals currently being advised by DLA Piper, alongside the combination of Atlas Iron Limited and Mineral Resources Limited, as well as power generation specialist Pacific Energy’s AU$90 million acquisition of Contract Power.
