MinRes’ acquisition of Norwest completed

In December 2022, Mineral Resources (MinRes) made an unsolicited takeover offer of $403 million.

While this offer was knocked back, a revised offer of $497 million won over the Norwest board in January 2023.

On April 6, MinRes announced that its offer was accepted by Norwest, and an acceptance facility was established.

On April 17, MinRes had acquired over 80 per cent of Norwest shares and had confirmed that a letter has been delivered to the facility agent confirming the rollover condition had been satisfied and the acceptance facility had closed.

By May 2023, MinRes had successfully acquired a relevant interest in more than 90 per cent of Norwest shares and immediately exercised its right to compulsorily acquire the remaining Norwest shares in line with the Corporations Act 2001.

MinRes chief executive energy Darren Hardy said that finalising the Norwest acquisition marked an important milestone in the company’s gas exploration program and broader energy strategy.

“MinRes’ success is underpinned by our ability to identify and act quickly on opportunities that support the growth of our business,” Hardy said.

“Energy is one of MinRes’ four growth pillars and introducing natural gas into our energy supply chain – alongside significant investment in renewable energy – will lead our efforts to displace diesel with low-cost, long-life energy for our operations and support our target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

With the acquisition of Norwest finalised, MinRes has plans to progress with exploration activities across its Perth Basin permits, including six wells over two years and the planned fast-tracking of appraisal and development studies at Lockyer Deep.