Reuters reported that in a bid to expand its copper and molybdenum resource base in Mexico, Mercator Minerals plans to acquire Creston Moly Corporation in a friendly cash and stock deal valued at about CAD 195 million.

The acquisition could transform Mercator into a mid-tier player by the middle of the decade as it boosts output from its Mineral Park mine in Arizona while continuing to move the El Pilar and El Creston projects in Mexico toward production.

The move to acquire Creston which owns the namesake El Creston project in Sonora, Mexico comes as miners across the globe scramble to expand resources as prices for copper, molybdenum and other metals have risen significantly following a sharp decline during the global economic downturn.

Vancouver based Mercator is offering 0.15 of a common share and 8 Canadian cents in cash for each common share of Creston. The offer price the equivalent of 63 Canadian cents, represents a premium of 38% to Creston's closing price on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Mr Bruce McLeod CEO of Creston said that we believe this creates a platform to participate in future consolidation. The companies said that Mr McLeod is set to become CEO of the combined company replacing Mercator CEO Mr Michael Surratt who has announced his intent to retire. Surratt will stay on as an advisor to the new chief executive.

(Sourced from Reuters)