SolGold agrees to $1.2 billion takeover by top investor Jiangxi Copper

Gold and copper miner SolGold said on Wednesday it had agreed to be acquired by its largest shareholder Jiangxi Copper in a deal valuing it at 867 million pounds ($1.17 billion).

The 28-pence-per-share deal represents an almost 43% premium to Ecuador-focused SolGold's closing price on November 19, the day before Jiangxi first approached the company for a deal.

SolGold's shares closed marginally higher at 25.65 pence in a holiday-shortened trading session on Wednesday.

The agreement gives Jiangxi control of SolGold's Cascabel project in Ecuador's Imbabura province, as miners race to secure copper supplies amid rising demand driven by electric vehicle and AI infrastructure investments.

The region is home to one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in South America.

The London-listed miner said earlier this month it was inclined to recommend the offer, which was Jiangxi's third proposal to acquire the company.

"JCC is delighted to have received the unanimous recommendation of the SolGold board and strong support from other large shareholders in favour of the acquisition. JCC is excited by the potential of the Cascabel project," Shaobing Zhou, vice chairman and general manager of Jiangxi, said in a statement.

SolGold's other top investors include global miner BHP and Newmont.

($1 = 0.7405 pounds)

-Shashwat Awasthi/Reuters