First Majestic Silver Corp. (FR.TO) said Tuesday it has notified the Board of Orko Silver Corp.(OKOFF.PK, OK.V) that it is not matching the offer made by rival Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. (CDE, CDM.TO) and will not be raising the consideration under First Majestic's offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Orko shares.
On February 13, Orko's Board declared that Coeur's offer was a superior proposal under the terms of the arrangement agreement entered into between First Majestic and Orko dated December 16, 2012. First Majestic had to match the offer by Tuesday.
Upon termination of the Arrangement Agreement, Orko is obligated to pay an C$11.6 million termination fee to First Majestic.
First Majestic CEO Keith Neumeyer said, "It is our view that by increasing the offer beyond our previous bid, the economics of the La Preciosa project drop below our minimum requirements for a rate of return and financial payback to our shareholders; therefore, we will not attempt to match the Coeur offer for La Preciosa as we do not believe it would be in the best interests of our shareholders."
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