Key shareholder urges Canadian miner Nevsun to engage with suitors

Euro Sun Mining

06/06/2018 19:59

By Nicole Mordant
    VANCOUVER, June 6 (Reuters) - Nevsun Resources  NSU.TO , a
Canadian miner which has been approached regarding a takeover,
should enter "good-faith negotiations with any suitor," Adrian
Day Asset Management, one of Nevsun's top 10 shareholders, said
in an open letter to the company's board on Wednesday. 
    "We would urge the company to use all efforts to maximize
value for shareholders... even if it does mean breaking up the
company," the asset management firm's chairman Adrian Day said
in the letter seen by Reuters. 
    The firm owns 3.1 million shares of Nevsun, making it the
seventh-biggest shareholder based on public filings, Day said. 
    Nevsun said on May 8 that its board of directors had
unanimously rejected a non-binding, unsolicited takeover
proposal from fellow Canadian miners Lundin Mining Corp  LUN.TO 
and Euro Sun Mining  ESM.TO , saying it was too low and had a
"problematic structure."  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1SF0T3
    Lundin has been keen for years to acquire the Timok copper
deposit in Serbia, which Nevsun owns. Lundin, whose board
refuses to invest in Eritrea, where Nevsun's other mine is
located, has teamed up with Euro Sun, a small, little-known
Canadian mine developer, in a takeover proposal for Nevsun.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1SI1YS
    Euro Sun on Monday sweetened its portion of the C$5-a-share
joint proposal for Nevsun to half cash and half stock from
all-stock before.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASA00ON8 
    Nevsun's second-biggest shareholder, M&G Investment
Management, said on May 8 it was "positively inclined" toward
the C$1.5 billion Lundin-Euro Sun proposal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1SF0TG
    The proposal is not a formal bid. Nevsun's chief executive
has said he would consider running a full sales process if
Lundin and Euro Sun made a formal bid. 
    Nevsun's stock was up 0.5 percent at C$4.30 on the Toronto
Stock Exchange.  
       
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
      

 (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by
Bernadette Baum)
 ((nicole.mordant@thomsonreuters.com; +1-778-374-3854; Reuters
Messaging: nicole.mordant.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))