SYDNEY--PanAust Ltd. (PNA.AU), a gold and silver miner, said
Tuesday it received a takeover bid from China's Guangdong Rising
Assets Management valuing it at around 1.46 billion Australian
dollars (US$1.37 billion).
Guangdong Rising, which already owns 23% of the Australian
miner, offered A$2.30 for all of the PanAust shares it doesn't
already own.
Although the bid is higher than a previous undisclosed offer
made in April by Guangdong Rising of A$2.20, PanAust said it
remains "materially below" what it would be prepared to recommend
to shareholders.
PanAust has allowed Guandong to access its books, potentially
encouraging a higher offer. In early trade in Sydney, PanAust
shares had jumped 32% to A$2.08.
The Brisbane-based company owns two operational mines in Laos
and has prospects in Chile and Papua New Guinea, where it agreed
last year to buy Glencore Xstrata PLC's (GLEN.LN) controlling stake
in the Frieda River copper and gold project.
Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com
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