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Friday, July 27, 2012 8:51:38 PM
Stockhouse Movers & Shakers: Hecla hostile bid is full and fair, CFO says -
Hecla chief financial officer says he is confident that
shareholders of U.S. Silver will accept the company’s
takeover bid.
Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL, Stock Forum) has launched a hostile
takeover bid for U.S. Silver Corp. (TSX: T.USA, Stock Forum),
with the aim of consolidating the operations of both companies
in Coeur d'Alene, northern Idaho, Hecla chief financial officer
Jim Sabala said Thursday.
“This is a district that Hecla has been operating in for 120 years. We know the district well and we think that there are potential synergies down the road,’’ Sabala said in a phone interview with Stockhouse.
In an announcement made after the close of trading on Wednesday,
Hecla said it intends to make a $1.80 per-share all cash offer
to acquire U.S. Silver Corp., a Toronto company which is
currently producing 2.3 million ounces of annually from
operations in Silver Valley, northern Idaho.
Hecla is also offering to buy U.S. Silver’s outstanding
warrants for 20.5 cents each.
Hecla said it is taking its offer directly to
U.S. Silver shareholders after failing to win the support
of the Toronto company’s board of directors.
News of the hostile bid comes as U.S. Silver shareholders are
scheduled to vote on a proposed merger with
RX Gold and Silver Inc. (TSX: V.RXE, Stock Forum) on August 7.
But Sabala said Hecla is convinced that its offer is superior.
“It is a full and fair offer and we feel that shareholders will
accept this offer,’’ he said.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77952570
Hecla approached U.S. Silver with its own merger offer Monday
morning.
When the two companies failed to reach an agreement,
Hecla issued a news release offering to buy up
U.S. Silver’s stock from its shareholders for
$1.80 per share in Canadian dollars.
It’s a $fiat 666 cash offer,
compared to the merger offer, in which
U.S. Silver’s shareholders would acquire 70 percent of the
stock in a new company, U.S. Silver & Gold.
Hecla’s aggressive bid to acquire U.S. Silver’s assets
doesn’t surprise Bennett.
With silver trading at $27 per ounce, there’s a renewed
excitement about mining properties in the Silver Valley,
he said.
“Hecla has a (relatively) new president,” Bennett said.
“Because of metals prices, they’ve been very successful
over the past few years in spite of
having to close the Lucky Friday for a year.
They’ve got good cash reserves … And they’ve been
very aggressive in exploration.”
Hecla expects to reopen the Lucky Friday Mine in early 2013.
The underground silver mine closed in January following
a federal inspection that uncovered maintenance problems
in the primary shaft used to transport workers and ore.
The inspection was part of a special review triggered by
two unrelated fatal accidents at the Lucky Friday last year.
When the Lucky Friday reopens, Hecla will restart work on a
$200 million project to deepen the mine and go after richer
ore.
The company is also evaluating the possibility of reopening
the historic Star Mine.
U.S. Silver, meanwhile, had hoped to use the merger with
RX Gold to strengthen its balance sheet and management team.
U.S. Silver has 345 employees in the Silver Valley.
In addition to the Galena Mine, it owns the closed
Coeur Mine, which company officials said will reopen
by the end of the year.
Sprott mum after Hecla offers cash for U.S. Silver in hostile
bid
Key questions remain unanswered as Hecla vies for
U.S. Silver, which had planned to consummate a
Sprott-blessed merger with RX Gold & Silver.
Author: Kip Keen
Posted: Friday , 27 Jul 2012
HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) -
The head of Sprott Asset Management, Eric Sprott,
was keeping his cards close to his chest after
Hecla Mining made a hostile C$111-million cash offer to buy
U.S. Silver that would derail a
Sprott-backed plan to merge
U.S. Silver with RX Gold & Silver.
Sprott is a key shareholder of both
U.S. Silver and
RX Gold & Silver,
holding 14 percent and 8 percent of each company respectively,
and now with the Hecla bid, as reported by Dorothy Kosich
early on Thursday, it faces an interesting dilemma.
Does it support a premium bid for U.S. Silver, but in so doing
give up on the RX Gold & Silver merger, a combination in which
it would be a top shareholder, or does it stick with the
merger, arguing as it did last month that the combo would
unlock shareholder value?
So far there is no official indication as to what
Sprott will decide.
A spokesperson for Mr. Sprott said on Thursday
he had no comment on the Hecla bid.
Likewise, Hecla was mum on additional details about the making
of its bid for U.S. Silver.
Hecla's Jim Sabala, senior vice president and chief financial
officer, said he would not comment on the background to the
offer beyond what had been laid out in a press release
Wednesday.
In the press release Hecla described approaching
U.S. Silver's board of directors on Monday July 23 with
the proposed takeover, expressing a "strong desire" to make
a deal, but that no agreement could be reached "on how best
to proceed on a timely basis."
An interesting question remains unanswered:
Did Hecla approach Sprott for support on the takeover proposal?
One way or the other, Sabala would not say.
On Thursday
U.S. Silver responded to the Hecla offer publicly, saying in
a press release its board of directors would review the
takeover bid.
It did not, however, go into any detail about the discussion
Hecla said it had with its board of directors.
A U.S. Silver spokesperson had not confirmed as of presstime
that the meeting had taken place.
Was the amount of cash on offer a sticking point?
Hecla's Sabala would not comment.
Meanwhile, there is nothing all that onerous keeping either
U.S. Silver or Sprott from changing their tunes.
If U.S. Silver did choose to dump the RX Gold & Silver merger
in favour of the Hecla bid, it would have to pay a termination
fee, which, according to a U.S. Silver proxy circular, would be
either $4 million or 3 percent of the implied value of any
superior offer.
And while Sprott has entered a lockup agreement with
U.S. Silver as regards the RX Gold & Silver merger, according
to terms set out in the same July 9 circular,
Sprott appears free to change its mind in the case where
a superior bid comes into play.
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=155906&sn=Detail&pid=102055
management performance often repeat itself -
its nice to ride with winner -
often in high demand
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77937090
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77949346
THE SILVER BOMB Collapse is Happening NOW $500+ Silver IS Coming Part 2
THE SILVER BOMB: An Opportunity That Will Never Happen Again -
Exclusive Interview with Eric Sprott Part 1
Eric Sprott Question and Answer Part 2
God Bless
Hecla chief financial officer says he is confident that
shareholders of U.S. Silver will accept the company’s
takeover bid.
Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL, Stock Forum) has launched a hostile
takeover bid for U.S. Silver Corp. (TSX: T.USA, Stock Forum),
with the aim of consolidating the operations of both companies
in Coeur d'Alene, northern Idaho, Hecla chief financial officer
Jim Sabala said Thursday.
“This is a district that Hecla has been operating in for 120 years. We know the district well and we think that there are potential synergies down the road,’’ Sabala said in a phone interview with Stockhouse.
In an announcement made after the close of trading on Wednesday,
Hecla said it intends to make a $1.80 per-share all cash offer
to acquire U.S. Silver Corp., a Toronto company which is
currently producing 2.3 million ounces of annually from
operations in Silver Valley, northern Idaho.
Hecla is also offering to buy U.S. Silver’s outstanding
warrants for 20.5 cents each.
Hecla said it is taking its offer directly to
U.S. Silver shareholders after failing to win the support
of the Toronto company’s board of directors.
News of the hostile bid comes as U.S. Silver shareholders are
scheduled to vote on a proposed merger with
RX Gold and Silver Inc. (TSX: V.RXE, Stock Forum) on August 7.
But Sabala said Hecla is convinced that its offer is superior.
“It is a full and fair offer and we feel that shareholders will
accept this offer,’’ he said.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77952570
Hecla approached U.S. Silver with its own merger offer Monday
morning.
When the two companies failed to reach an agreement,
Hecla issued a news release offering to buy up
U.S. Silver’s stock from its shareholders for
$1.80 per share in Canadian dollars.
It’s a $fiat 666 cash offer,
compared to the merger offer, in which
U.S. Silver’s shareholders would acquire 70 percent of the
stock in a new company, U.S. Silver & Gold.
Hecla’s aggressive bid to acquire U.S. Silver’s assets
doesn’t surprise Bennett.
With silver trading at $27 per ounce, there’s a renewed
excitement about mining properties in the Silver Valley,
he said.
“Hecla has a (relatively) new president,” Bennett said.
“Because of metals prices, they’ve been very successful
over the past few years in spite of
having to close the Lucky Friday for a year.
They’ve got good cash reserves … And they’ve been
very aggressive in exploration.”
Hecla expects to reopen the Lucky Friday Mine in early 2013.
The underground silver mine closed in January following
a federal inspection that uncovered maintenance problems
in the primary shaft used to transport workers and ore.
The inspection was part of a special review triggered by
two unrelated fatal accidents at the Lucky Friday last year.
When the Lucky Friday reopens, Hecla will restart work on a
$200 million project to deepen the mine and go after richer
ore.
The company is also evaluating the possibility of reopening
the historic Star Mine.
U.S. Silver, meanwhile, had hoped to use the merger with
RX Gold to strengthen its balance sheet and management team.
U.S. Silver has 345 employees in the Silver Valley.
In addition to the Galena Mine, it owns the closed
Coeur Mine, which company officials said will reopen
by the end of the year.
Sprott mum after Hecla offers cash for U.S. Silver in hostile
bid
Key questions remain unanswered as Hecla vies for
U.S. Silver, which had planned to consummate a
Sprott-blessed merger with RX Gold & Silver.
Author: Kip Keen
Posted: Friday , 27 Jul 2012
HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) -
The head of Sprott Asset Management, Eric Sprott,
was keeping his cards close to his chest after
Hecla Mining made a hostile C$111-million cash offer to buy
U.S. Silver that would derail a
Sprott-backed plan to merge
U.S. Silver with RX Gold & Silver.
Sprott is a key shareholder of both
U.S. Silver and
RX Gold & Silver,
holding 14 percent and 8 percent of each company respectively,
and now with the Hecla bid, as reported by Dorothy Kosich
early on Thursday, it faces an interesting dilemma.
Does it support a premium bid for U.S. Silver, but in so doing
give up on the RX Gold & Silver merger, a combination in which
it would be a top shareholder, or does it stick with the
merger, arguing as it did last month that the combo would
unlock shareholder value?
So far there is no official indication as to what
Sprott will decide.
A spokesperson for Mr. Sprott said on Thursday
he had no comment on the Hecla bid.
Likewise, Hecla was mum on additional details about the making
of its bid for U.S. Silver.
Hecla's Jim Sabala, senior vice president and chief financial
officer, said he would not comment on the background to the
offer beyond what had been laid out in a press release
Wednesday.
In the press release Hecla described approaching
U.S. Silver's board of directors on Monday July 23 with
the proposed takeover, expressing a "strong desire" to make
a deal, but that no agreement could be reached "on how best
to proceed on a timely basis."
An interesting question remains unanswered:
Did Hecla approach Sprott for support on the takeover proposal?
One way or the other, Sabala would not say.
On Thursday
U.S. Silver responded to the Hecla offer publicly, saying in
a press release its board of directors would review the
takeover bid.
It did not, however, go into any detail about the discussion
Hecla said it had with its board of directors.
A U.S. Silver spokesperson had not confirmed as of presstime
that the meeting had taken place.
Was the amount of cash on offer a sticking point?
Hecla's Sabala would not comment.
Meanwhile, there is nothing all that onerous keeping either
U.S. Silver or Sprott from changing their tunes.
If U.S. Silver did choose to dump the RX Gold & Silver merger
in favour of the Hecla bid, it would have to pay a termination
fee, which, according to a U.S. Silver proxy circular, would be
either $4 million or 3 percent of the implied value of any
superior offer.
And while Sprott has entered a lockup agreement with
U.S. Silver as regards the RX Gold & Silver merger, according
to terms set out in the same July 9 circular,
Sprott appears free to change its mind in the case where
a superior bid comes into play.
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=155906&sn=Detail&pid=102055
management performance often repeat itself -
its nice to ride with winner -
often in high demand
![smile](/images/emoticon01.gif)
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77937090
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77949346
![](http://www.kitconet.com/images/live/ag0001wb.gif)
THE SILVER BOMB Collapse is Happening NOW $500+ Silver IS Coming Part 2
THE SILVER BOMB: An Opportunity That Will Never Happen Again -
Exclusive Interview with Eric Sprott Part 1
Eric Sprott Question and Answer Part 2
God Bless
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