Inmet shares surge after spurning takeover bid from First Quantum

Shares in Canadian copper producer Inmet Mining (TSX:IMN) surged a staggering 17.7% in Wednesday trading following the company’s announcement that it had rejected a takeover bid from First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM).

The Northern Miner reports that Inmet had received an unsolicited bid from First Quantum on November 25 proposing acquisition of the company at a price of $70 per share via the payment of a mixture of cash and shares.

First Quantum, which operates copper-gold mines in Africa and Australia, had previously made a private unsolicited bid in late October priced at $62.50 per Inmet share, during which period Inmet itself was preoccupied with an abortive bid for Panamanian gold miner Petaquilla Minerals (TSX:PTQ).

First Quantum’s latest offer at $70 per share represents a 30% premium to Inmet’s closing price on November 23, the final trading session just prior to the offer, and would have comprised a total cash payment of $2.461 billion and 112.679 million First Quantum shares.

Toronto-based Inmet operates three fully-owned copper mines in Turkey, Spain and Finland, and is currently in the process of building the Cobre Panama mine in Panama.