Indian Co bids for Australian Rey Resources; faces opposition

NEW DELHI: India's largest met coke producer Gujarat NRE Coke on Thursday said it has made a Rs 53.21 crore bid to take over the Australian mining company Rey Resources, which termed the move as "unsolicited" and decided to oppose it.

The Arun Jagatramka-led firm is looking to acquire about 90 per cent stake in the coal exploration firm in an off-market "all share no cash" deal through its Australian arm Gujarat NRE Minerals.

However, opposing the "unsolicited" takeover bid, Rey Resources recommended that its shareholders "take no action" concerning their shares in the company.

"We are offering about 14 million Australian dollars to acquire the company in an off-market all share no cash deal. The amount represents the current valuation of the shares," Gujarat NRE Coke Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Arun Kumar Jagatramka said.

Gujarat NRE Minerals (GNM), which holds about 16.64 per cent stake in the Australian entity, had yesterday indicated its intention of taking over the firm by offering one GNM share against every five shares of the target firm. The Indian firm is eyeing the rich coal reserves of the Australian firm.

Gujarat NRE Coke said that the present market cap of the Australian firm is around 8-9 million Australian dollars and its bid represents a premium of about 40 per cent over last traded value of Rey Resources' shares.