Venture combines Acadia, two offshore companies

Three companies would be folded into one under a proposed restructuring plan for Acadia Mineral Ventures (CDN).

The arrangement would see Messina Copper (Botswana), owner of a Botswanan copper property, taken over by a holding company, which would, in turn, be taken over by Acadia.

Messina Copper is the Botswanan arm of Messina Investments, a public South African company. Its Bushman property in Botswana has a copper deposit hosted in a shear zone with a preliminary resource estimated at 24 million tonnes grading 2.99% copper, including some oxidized-zone reserves that could be exploited by solvent extraction-electrowinning. The South African parent is also a shareholder of the holding company, Mortbury Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands.

At a meeting in late February, shareholders of Acadia will be asked to approve a 1-for-20 consolidation of the company’s shares, and a post-consolidation exchange of one Acadia share for each share of Mortbury.

When the consolidation and exchange are complete, Acadia’s shareholders will own 5.8% of the reorganized company, and Mortbury’s shareholders the rest. Outstanding purchase warrants for Mortbury shares will be exchanged for warrants to purchase shares of Acadia. If Messina Investments exercises all its Acadia warrants, it will ultimately hold 12.2% of Acadia.

The restructuring will also result in a new board of directors for Acadia. The proposed slate includes: Anthony Buchan, chairman of Messina Investments; David Watkins of Cyprus Amax; Neil Woodyer of Endeavour Financial; and current Acadia directors David Jones and Charles Howard.