Australian nickel and lithium miner IGO Ltd said on Thursday Wyloo Consolidated Investments, one of Western Areas’ top shareholders, has agreed to vote in favour of its A$1.10 billion ($790.24 million) bid for the nickel producer.
Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest-backed Wyloo Consolidated will vote its 9.8% stake in Western Areas in favour of IGO’s bid and commit to a standstill, under which it will not deal with Western Areas’ shares other than those that are a part of the scheme, the company said in a statement.
Additionally, IGO and Wyloo Metals have also entered a deal to evaluate opportunities for nickel downstream processing in the country, the miner added.
The new deal will be 70% funded by IGO and aims to progress “Australia’s relevance in the battery metals supply chain,” IGO Chief Executive Officer Peter Bradford said.
There have been an increasing number of deals for nickel assets, a key battery metal used in electric vehicles, as part of a global push towards greener modes of transport.
“Our transaction to acquire Western Areas is ‘on strategy’ and a ‘sensible consolidation of Western Australian nickel production assets,” Bradford added.
Wyloo joins the largest shareholder and asset manager Perpetual Ltd in supporting the all-cash deal, announced by IGO in December, accounting for a fourth of shareholding in Western Areas.
($1 = 1.3920 Australian dollars)
(By Savyata Mishra; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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