Australian Billionaire Offers Premium to BHP Bid for Noront Resources -- Update

(Adds comments from BHP)

 
   By Rhiannon Hoyle and Jaime Llinares Taboada

SYDNEY--Wyloo Metals, owned by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, proposed to pay a premium for Noront Resources Ltd. over an existing takeover offer made by BHP Group Ltd.

Wyloo said it would pay Noront shareholders 70 Canadian cents (US$0.555) a share for their interest in the mining company, a 27% premium to the C$0.55 offered by BHP last month. Investors who don't want to sell their stake could remain as shareholders under a new leadership team that would include Dr. Forrest as chairman, Wyloo said.

Wyloo, which already holds a large stake in Noront, in May proposed an offer at C$0.315 a share for the miner's shares.

Noront is focused on developing deposits in northern Ontario that contain metals such as copper and nickel, expected to be in high demand as the world decarbonizes.

After Wyloo's proposal, BHP said it will continue to monitor the situation and will consider alternatives if a competing offer materializes.

BHP also highlighted "the uncertain and conditional nature of the Wyloo proposal," adding that the BHP offer is the only transaction currently available to Noront shareholders.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com and Jaime Llinares at jaime.llinares@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 31, 2021 09:49 ET (13:49 GMT)

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