Altius Minerals Corp. says it will pocket $27 million in profits - a return of 78 per cent - from an investment the St. John's-based company made last year.
In July, Altius acquired seven million shares of International Royalty Corp. (IRC).
That purchase, combined with a couple of million shares Altius previously bought, meant the Newfoundland company held roughly 9.4 per cent of IRC.
"We bought a big piece of IRC because our appraisal of the assets of the company versus the value - the market capitalization, of the company at the time - (showed) there seemed to be a good basis there for an investment," explained Chad Wells, vice-president of corporate development for Altius.
IRC is a global mineral royalty company. Its holdings include a 2.7 per cent net smelter royalty on the Voisey's Bay mine.
Altius, on its own, has a 0.3 per cent royalty on Voisey's Bay as well. This week, Royal Gold Inc. took over IRC, buying all of its shares.
That deal will see Altius get nearly $62 million for its shares in IRC - roughly 60 per cent of it in cash, the rest in stock.
According to Wells, the original investment cost $35 million. That will leave Altius with a profit of roughly $27 million.
Wells said Altius will be sitting on $195 million in cash when the deal closes. The company has no debt.
Altius stock was trading at $8.31 on the TSX Venture exchange late this week. Its 52-week high is $9.10 and its low is $5.56.
The company has royalty interests in a number of mining projects and is involved in a series of mineral exploration plays, mainly in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Altius was also the driving force behind a since-shelved proposal to build a second oil refinery in the province.
rantle@thetelegram.com
Altius says it will make $27-M from IRC sale
-
Published on
February 27, 2010
- Published on July 1, 2010
-
Rob Antle
Mining/Royalties
Altius Minerals Corp. says it will pocket $27 million in profits - a return of 78 per cent - from an investment the St. John's-based company made last year.
In July, Altius acquired seven million shares of International Royalty Corp. (IRC).
That purchase, combined with a couple of million shares Altius previously bought, meant the Newfoundland company held roughly 9.4 per cent of IRC.
- Rate
- Top of the page
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
