Equinox Minerals Limited announced that it has entered into an agreement with Citadel Resource Group Limited under which Equinox proposes to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Citadel by way of a recommended takeover offer.

The Board of Citadel has recommended unanimously that Citadel shareholders accept the Offer in the absence of a superior proposal.

The Offer comprises 1 Equinox share for every 14.3 Citadel shares, plus AUD 0.105 per Citadel share in cash. The total value of the Offer is approximately AUD 1.25 billion. After completion of the transaction, Equinox shareholders will own approximately 81% of the combined group and Citadel shareholders will own 19%. All Board directors of Citadel who hold Citadel shares as well as certain key Citadel shareholders, in aggregate representing 19.9% of Citadel’s outstanding shares, have entered into pre bid acceptance agreements with Equinox under which they have agreed to accept the Offer in the absence of a superior proposal that is not matched by Equinox.

Mr Craig Williams president and CEO of Equinox said that “This transaction is a perfect fit with Equinox’s strategy of delivering value accretive growth to shareholders through M&A as well as the execution of our organic growth projects. The acquisition of Citadel will achieve our stated goal of securing a significant near term development project in a mining friendly jurisdiction. It also expands our pipeline of exploration projects and complements the long term growth ambitions of the group.”