The Sierra Rutile (SRX) takeover saga concluded this week, after acquirer Iluka Resources changed its mind for the second time in eight days and decided it was prepared to buy the Sierra Leonean miner with an offer of 36p a share. Completion of the £215m deal caused Sierra's share price to jump 24 per cent on Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the company's delisting from Aim on Wednesday morning.
Any investors who sold out after Iluka appeared to back away from the merger on 28 November will be kicking themselves. With just hours to go before the merger was originally scheduled to conclude, the Australian company had expressed last-minute concerns over the state of Sierra's tailings dams, in turn causing the Aim group's share price to fall to as low as 27.5p. Following discussions, Sierra managed to assure Iluka of the integrity of its operations.
