MONTREAL, QC and VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 24,
2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Nomad Royalty Company Ltd. ("Nomad"
or the "Company") (TSX: NSR) and (OTCQX: NSRXF) and Coral Gold
Resources Ltd. ("Coral") (TSXV: CLH) (OTCQX: CLHRF) are pleased to
announce that they have entered into a definitive Arrangement
Agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement"), under which Nomad intends
to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Coral pursuant
to a statutory plan of arrangement pursuant to the Business
Corporations Act (British
Columbia) (the "Transaction") for total value of
approximately $45.8 million. All
amounts in this news release are expressed in United States dollars unless otherwise
indicated.
Acquisition Highlights
- Acquisition of a premier, uncapped sliding-scale 1.00% to 2.25%
net smelter return ("NSR") royalty on Nevada Gold Mines' Robertson property located in
Nevada, USA (the "Robertson
Property"), which forms part of the greater Cortez & Pipeline
mining complex. Based on the current gold spot price of over
US$1,940 per ounce, the applicable
NSR royalty rate is currently 2.00%;
- Premier gold mining operator in the world on the tier 1 Cortez
& Pipeline mine complex;
- The Robertson development project contains an historical
Inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) in excess of 2.7 million
ounces Au in total oxide and sulphide materials (191.7 Mt grading
0.0143 oz/t Au), using a 0.0147 oz Au/ton cut off, based on the NI
43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment dated January 15, 2012 as prepared for Coral by Beacon
Hill Consultants (1988) Ltd. in conjunction with Knight Piésold
Ltd., SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. and Kaehne Consulting Ltd. (the
"Technical Report"), a copy of which is available on Coral's
profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com;
- Exploration upside from a key asset property with drilling
currently underway, that is located within close proximity of the
Cortez mill;
- Strong balance sheet that currently has in excess of
C$11.5 million in cash; and
- Downside protection through minimum non-refundable advance
royalty payments totalling $0.5
million per year for 10 years commencing in 2025.
The above-mentioned resources estimate on the
Robertson Property is historical in
nature. Nomad and Coral are of the
view that the resources disclosed in
the Technical Report are relevant and
reliable, but should not be relied on as a current resources
estimate. No qualified person of Nomad or Coral has done sufficient
work to classify the above-mentioned estimate as current mineral
resources.
"When we created Nomad, we set the objective to become a
catalyst for sector consolidation. Today's announcement marks the
first step of our consolidation strategy and follows our desire to
become the best global acquisition-driven precious metals royalty
company in the sector. This acquisition will further diversify our
global portfolio as we keep executing on our aggressive growth
plan" said Vincent Metcalfe, Nomad's
Chief Executive Officer.
"This acquisition is very strategic for Nomad as it allows us to
access a royalty on a top tier mining complex, operated by one of
the largest gold operator in the world and located in Nevada, a leading mining jurisdiction. We are
also very pleased to welcome new shareholders of Nomad as we
continue our growth trajectory" said Joseph
de la Plante, Nomad's Chief Investment Officer.
Transaction Details
Pursuant to the Transaction, Coral shareholders will be entitled
to receive, for each Coral share held, consideration consisting of
C$0.05 in cash and 0.80 of a unit (a
"Unit") of Nomad, as described below. The consideration
payable to Coral shareholders by Nomad represents total value of
approximately C$1.21 per Coral share
(the "Aggregate Consideration per Coral
Share"), based on the closing price of C$1.37 of Nomad common shares on the TSX on
August 21, 2020 and including the
C$0.06 estimated value per Coral
share of the one-half common share purchase warrant included in
each Unit. Based on Nomad's and Coral's August 21, 2020 closing prices on the TSX and TSX
Venture Exchange respectively, the Transaction represents a premium
of approximately 45% to Coral shareholders.
Each Unit will consist of one Nomad common share and one-half of
a common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each full Warrant
will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional Nomad
common share at a price of C$1.71 for
a period of two years following the effective date of the
Transaction. If the daily volume-weighted average trading price of
Nomad's shares on the TSX exceeds the Warrant exercise price by at
least 25% for any period of 20 consecutive trading days after one
year from the effective date of the Transaction, Nomad will have
the right to give notice in writing to the holders of the Warrants
that the Warrants will expire 30 days following such notice, unless
exercised prior thereto.
Each stock option to acquire common shares of Coral will be
subject to accelerated vesting in accordance with Coral's stock
option plan, and the option holders are expected to enter into
option exercise and termination agreement with Coral prior to
closing of the Transaction, pursuant to which the optionholders
will be required to exercise their stock options prior to closing
of the Transaction or, if they fail to do so, any and all
outstanding and unexercised stock options of Coral shall expire and
be terminated as of the effective date of the Transaction.
Overview of Coral
Coral Gold Resources Ltd. is a precious metals royalty company
with assets in Nevada, USA.
Coral's primary asset is a 1.00% to 2.25% sliding scale NSR royalty
on the Robertson Property. The sliding scale NSR royalty rate will
be determined based on the observed gold price during each
quarterly period based on the average LBMA Gold Price PM during the
quarterly period, as follows:
Average Gold Price
During the Quarter (US$/oz)
|
Applicable NSR
Royalty Rate
|
Up to and including
$1,200.00
|
1.00%
|
$1,200.01 to
$1,400.00
|
1.25%
|
$1,400.01 to
$1,600.00
|
1.50%
|
$1,600.01 to
$1,800.00
|
1.75%
|
$1,800.01 to
$2,000.00
|
2.00%
|
Over
$2,000.00
|
2.25%
|
In addition, in the event that the Robertson Property is not
placed into production by December 31,
2024, then beginning on January 1,
2025, and continuing on an annual basis thereafter until the
earlier of (i) the date commercial production commences and (ii)
January 2, 2034, Barrick Cortez Inc.
("Barrick") will make annual advance royalty payments to the
royalty holder of $0.5 million, which
will be non-refundable and fully credited against any future
obligations under the Robertson Royalty.
Coral also holds a portfolio of strategically-located
exploration projects near Nevada Gold Mine's Pipeline/Cortez Mine
Complex on Nevada's Battle
Mountain/Cortez Trend. Coral
is debt free with a strong balance sheet holding in excess of
C$11.5 million in cash.
Coral's Initiatives to Enhance Shareholder Value
In 2016, Coral's management team, in consultation with Coral's
Board of Directors and its financial and legal advisors, began
considering and implementing various strategic and financial
initiatives to create shareholder value. Coral's share price
increased from a low of C$0.06 on
January 5, 2016 to C$0.83 on August 21,
2020 representing an increase of 1,283%. The Aggregate
Consideration per Coral Share of
approximately C$1.21 represents an
increase of approximately 1,900% compared to the aforementioned
January 5, 2016 Coral share price of
C$0.06.
On June 20, 2016, with very
limited cash and financial resources on hand and Coral shareholders
facing significant potential dilution in order for Coral to advance
its projects, Coral changed its business model to become a
royalty-focused company through a transaction with Barrick. Coral
believed that, as the Robertson Property was advanced and benefited
from Barrick's operating expertise and existing infrastructure, the
NSR would become a valuable and sought-after royalty within the
industry. Since the announcement of this transition to the royalty
business model, Coral did not complete any dilutive equity
financings and instead embarked on an aggressive campaign to reduce
its outstanding common shares by acquiring Coral shares at what
Coral believed were attractive prices. This included the return and
cancellation of 4,150,000 Coral shares held by Barrick as part of
the royalty model transition when the market price of Coral shares
was C$0.08 per share, as well as the
repurchase of 8,007,000 common shares through three normal course
issuer bids since 2017 at an average purchase price of
approximately C$0.39 per share. The
value creation for Coral shareholders from these strategic and
financial initiatives is evident culminating in the announcement of
the Transaction with Nomad.
Coral's CEO David Wolfin
commented, "I am delighted to announce this important Transaction
with Nomad. Coral has patiently and confidently executed a clear,
focused strategy over the past 5 years with the objective of
maximizing shareholder value. This Transaction offers numerous
benefits to Coral shareholders immediately as well as over the
medium to long-term. I look forward to becoming both a Nomad
shareholder and warrant holder, and benefitting from the Nomad
management team's expertise, key industry partnerships and growth
strategy. I also look forward to seeing the Robertson NSR become an
important asset within Nomad's growing portfolio."
Benefits to Coral Shareholders
- Significant premium to the current share price and continued
upside through ownership of Nomad common shares and warrants;
- Attractive mix of consideration including cash, Nomad common
shares and Nomad warrants;
- Immediate exposure to substantial free cash flow from Nomad's
diversified portfolio of royalties, streams and gold loans;
- Enhanced scale with better access to capital and greater
balance sheet flexibility; and
- Robust re-rate potential as Nomad pursues its growth trajectory
towards intermediate royalty company status.
Approvals and Timing
The Transaction, which is expected to close on or about
November 6, 2020, received the
unanimous support of the Boards of Directors of Nomad and Coral.
Certain Coral shareholders as well as Coral's directors and
officers, holding or having control or direction over an aggregate
of 39.46% of the issued and outstanding Coral shares, have entered
into a support and voting agreement with Nomad to vote in favour of
the Transaction.
The Transaction will be implemented by way of a court-approved
plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act
(British Columbia). It will be
subject to the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by
Coral shareholders, and a simple majority of votes cast by Coral
"minority" shareholders in accordance with Multilateral Instrument
61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special
Transactions, at a special meeting of Coral shareholders to be
held on or about late October, 2020 to consider the Transaction
(the "Special Meeting").
In addition to Coral shareholders' and court approval, the
Transaction is subject to regulatory approval, including approval
by the TSX for the listing of the shares to be issued by
Nomad and the common shares issuable upon exercise of the
Warrants, if any, and other closing conditions customary for
transactions of this kind. The Arrangement Agreement includes
customary deal protection provisions in favour of Nomad, including
non-solicitation covenants and a right to match superior proposals,
and a termination fee in favour of Nomad equal to 4.5% of the
market capitalization of Coral on the date of any termination of
the Arrangement Agreement by Coral.
Financial and Legal Advisors
Coral's financial advisor is Cantor Fitzgerald Canada
Corporation and PI Financial Corp. provided an independent fairness
opinion to Coral's Board of Directors. Harper Grey LLP is
Coral's legal counsel. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is
Nomad's legal counsel.
No Offer or Solicitation
This announcement is for informational purposes only and does
not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer
to sell Coral shares or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an
offer to buy Nomad shares.
None of the securities to be issued pursuant to the Arrangement
Agreement have been or will be registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or
any state securities laws, and any securities issued in the
Transaction are anticipated to be issued in reliance upon available
exemptions from such registration requirements pursuant to Section
3(a)(10) of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable exemptions under
state securities laws.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and
approved by Lewis Teal, P. Geo., a
qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ABOUT NOMAD
Nomad Royalty Company Ltd. is a gold & silver royalty
company that purchases rights to a percentage of the gold or silver
produced from a mine, for the life of the mine. Nomad owns a
portfolio of 11 royalty, stream, and gold loan assets, of which 5
are on currently producing mines. Nomad plans to grow and diversify
its low-cost production profile through the acquisition of
additional producing and near-term producing gold & silver
streams and royalties. For more information please visit:
www.nomadroyalty.com.
Nomad Royalty Company Ltd.
500-1275 ave. des Canadiens-de-Montréal
Montreal, Québec H3B 0G4
nomadroyalty.com
ABOUT CORAL
Coral is a precious metals exploration company, where it has
explored one of the world's richest gold districts in Nevada for over 30 years. Coral's
primary asset is a sliding scale net smelter returns production
royalty on Barrick's Robertson Property in Nevada. Coral also
holds a portfolio of strategically-located exploration projects
near Barrick's Pipeline/Cortez Mine Complex on Nevada's
Battle Mountain/Cortez Trend.
Coral Gold Resources Ltd.
Suite 900 570 Granville Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V6C 3P1
www.coralgold.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical fact, that address events or
developments that Nomad and Coral expect to occur, are forward
looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that
are not historical facts and are generally, but not always,
identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates",
"believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential",
"scheduled" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions
"will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur including,
without limitation, the satisfaction of all conditions precedent
for the closing of Transaction; the timing for the completion
of the Transaction; the anticipated timing for holding the Special
Meeting; the receipt of court, shareholder and regulatory approvals
required for the Transaction; the potential impact of the
Transaction on the combined entity's future operations; the
exploration update and development of the Robertson Property;
Nomad's ability to become a catalyst for sector consolidation and
the best global acquisition-driven precious metals royalty company
in the sector; Nomad's diversified global portfolio and potential
growth and benefits to Coral shareholders. Although Nomad and Coral
believe the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ
materially from those in forward looking statements. Factors that
could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include, the impossibility to satisfy
the conditions precedent for the closing of the Transaction, the
impossibility to acquire royalties, streams and to fund precious
metal streams, gold prices, Nomad's royalty and stream interests,
mineral resource estimates, access to skilled consultants, results
of mining operations, exploration and development activities for
properties with respect to which Nomad holds a royalty or stream,
uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability
of personnel, materials and equipment, timeliness of government or
court approvals, actual performance of facilities, equipment and
processes relative to specifications and expectations,
unanticipated environmental impacts on operations, market prices,
continued availability of capital and financing and general
economic, market or business conditions. These risks, uncertainties
and other factors include, but are not limited to, those described
under "COVID-19" and "Risks and Uncertainties" in Nomad's
Management Discussion and Analysis for the three and six month
periods ended June 30, 2020, as well
as those described under "Risk Factors" in Nomad's Filing Statement
dated May 15, 2020, copies of which
are available on Nomad's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Nomad
and Coral caution that the foregoing list of important factors is
not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on the
forward looking statements contained herein should carefully
consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they
represent and the risk they entail. Nomad and Coral believe that
the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are
reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations
will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements
included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon.
These statements speak only as of the date of this press release.
Nomad and Coral undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by
applicable law.
SOURCE Nomad Royalty Company Ltd.