Vancouver – The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld an injunction prohibiting Northgate Minerals (NGX-T, NXG-X) from proceeding with an unsolicited takeover bid for Aurizon Mines (ARZ-T, AZK-X). Northgate has withdrawn the offer and will return any deposited shares to Aurizon shareholders shortly.
Aurizon gained the Supreme Court injunction on the grounds that Northgate had breached a one-year-term confidentiality and standstill agreement entered into on October 19, 2005, after Northgate approached Aurizon with a merger proposal that was subsequently rejected.
Northgate appealed the decision and sought a stay of the injunction pending the appeal, but was unsuccessful. The company says it is “extremely disappointed with the court’s decision,” but will move on to “other opportunities to create long-term value” for its shareholders.
Northgate operates the Kemess South copper-gold open-pit mine in northern British Columbia, and the adjacent Kemess North deposit, now in the permitting stage, and is advancing the past-producing Young-Davidson gold mine project in the Matachewan camp of Ontario.
Aurizon owns the past-producing Casa Berardi gold mine in Quebec’s Abitibi district. The company recently raised $126 million to bring Casa Berardi back into production at an annual rate of about 175,000 oz. gold, starting later this year.
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