The Bardoc Gold Limited (ASX: BDC) share price is roaring higher following the announcement of a takeover offer and spinout plan.
Fellow ASX gold producer St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) has posed an all scrip offer, valuing the company's stock at 53 cents apiece. The companies have also agreed to spinout Bardoc Gold's manganese project.
At the time of writing, the Bardoc Gold share price is 46.5 cents, 13.4% higher than its previous close.
On top of that, the news sent the company's stock to a new 52-week high of 49 cents earlier today, representing a 19.5% gain.
While the Bardoc Gold share price is revelling in the acquisition proposition, Saint Barbara's has slid 6.8% to trade at $1.37 at the time of writing.
Let's take a closer look at the proposed takeover and spinout.
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Bardoc Gold share price surges on takeover offer
Monday is proving to be a brilliant day for the Bardoc Gold share price. It's rocketing on the back of a $157 million takeover offer.
If accepted, the offer will see Bardoc Gold shareholders receiving 0.3604 St Barbara shares for each Bardoc Gold security they hold.
The offer represents a 29.2% premium on Bardoc Gold's previous close and a 34.7% premium on its 30-day volume-weighted average price.
The acquisition would see St Barbara shareholders owning around 87% of the resulting entity.
A spinout of Bardoc Gold's South Woodie Woodie Manganese Project has also been proposed. Under the proposition, Bardoc Gold shareholders will wholly own the spun-out entity.
The spinout is subject to shareholder approval.
Meanwhile, the acquisition is conditional on several provisos, including shareholder and court approval.
Right now, the Bardoc Gold share price is around 6% lower than it was at the start of 2021.
What did management say?
Bardoc Gold chair Tony Leibowitz commented on the news driving the company's share price today, saying:
In addition to creating a liquidity event, the transaction delivers a healthy premium and will give our shareholders approximately 13% per cent ownership of an enlarged St Barbara – providing exposure to a much larger, diversified international gold producer with operating assets and a strong development pipeline in Australia, PNG, and Canada. We believe there is excellent potential for a future market re-rating and value uplift.
At the same time, we have reached agreement with St Barbara to proceed with a spinout of our South Woodie Woodie manganese assets. This represents an exciting opportunity for Bardoc shareholders to receive shares via an in-specie distribution in a new battery metals-focused company led by one of the most experienced corporate teams in Australia with a proven track record in value-creation.
