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News - Monday, June 11, 2007
Peru Copper Announces Friendly C$6.60 Per Share Cash Offer By
Aluminum Corporation of China and Concurrent C$70 Million Private
Placement
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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, June 11, 2007, Peru Copper Inc.
(TSX:PCR / AMEX:CUP / BVL:CUP) ("Peru Copper" or the
"Company")
announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement (the
"Support Agreement") pursuant to which Aluminum Corporation of China
("Chinalco"), a diversified metals and mining company based in
Beijing,
China, has agreed, subject to the terms of the Support Agreement, to
make an offer to acquire all the outstanding Peru Copper shares by way
of a friendly take-over bid (the "Offer") for C$6.60 per share in
cash,
valuing the Company at approximately C$840 million. The Offer
represents a premium of 21% to Peru Copper's 20-day volume weighted
average trading price of $5.45 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the
"TSX") ending on May 23, 2007, the last trading prior to the date on
which the Company announced it had entered into an exclusivity
agreement. The acquisition of the Peru Copper shares will be financed
through Chinalco's cash on hand.
Highlights:
Cash Offer for all shares at C$6.60 per share
Premium of 21% to 20-day volume weighted average price ending May 23,
2007
C$840 million aggregate purchase price for the outstanding shares
Unanimous recommendation of the Peru Copper Board of Directors
Lock-ups representing approximately 34% of the outstanding Peru Copper
shares
$21 million non-completion fee and right to match
Concurrent C$70 million private placement of approximately 13.2 million
Peru Copper shares to Chinalco
In order to ensure that Peru Copper has adequate funds to advance the
Toromocho Project in the near term, Chinalco has also agreed to invest
C$70 million by subscribing for 13.2 million Peru Copper shares at a
price of C$5.30 per share, representing an issue discount of 2.75% to
Peru Copper's 20-day volume weighted average trading price of C$5.45 on
the TSX ending on May 23, 2007. Following completion of the private
placement, Chinalco will own approximately 9.9% of the then outstanding
Peru Copper shares. Chinalco's subscription is not conditional on the
successful completion of the Offer. The private placement is subject
to the approval of the TSX and the American Stock Exchange and is
expected to close within the next two weeks.
The Support Agreement provides for, among other things, customary board
support and non-solicitation covenants (subject to customary "fiduciary
out" provisions that entitle Peru Copper to consider and accept a
superior proposal), a five business day right to match in favour of
Chinalco and the payment to Chinalco of a non-completion fee of C$21
million if the acquisition is not completed in certain specified
circumstances.
In connection with the Offer, all of the directors and certain other
shareholders representing approximately 34% of the outstanding Peru
Copper shares (calculated on a fully-diluted basis) have entered into
lock-up agreements with Chinalco pursuant to which they have agreed to,
among other things, tender all their Peru Copper shares to the Offer.
The Peru Copper Board of Directors, after receiving the recommendation
of its special committee and consulting with its financial and legal
advisors, has unanimously determined that the Offer is fair and in the
best interest of the Peru Copper shareholders and to recommend
acceptance of the Offer. UBS Investment Bank, the financial advisor to
the Peru Copper Board of Directors, has provided an opinion that the
Offer is fair, from a financial point of view, to the Peru Copper
shareholders. Canaccord Capital Corporation, acting as financial
advisor to the Special Committee of the Peru Copper Board of Directors,
has also provided an opinion that the Offer is fair, from a financial
point of view, to the Peru Copper shareholders.
J. David Lowell, Chairman of Peru
Copper, commented, "Since November
2005, Peru Copper has been conducting a strategic review of the options
available to the Company to maximize the value of the Toromocho
Project. Having assessed all options available to the Company, we have
concluded that Chinalco's offer is the best option available to our
shareholders and to the Company. We are delighted that a company of
the financial and technical strength of Chinalco is going to take the
Toromocho Project to the next stage of its development."
Mr. Yaqing Xiao, President of Chinalco, said, "The founders, management
and employees of Peru Copper have done an exceptional job of
identifying the resource potential of the Toromocho Project and of
advancing the project towards the definitive feasibility stage. We are
extremely excited by the prospect of working with the existing
employees of Peru Copper, and the government and people of Peru to
realize the full potential of this world-class mining project." Mr.
Yaqing Xiao went on to say, "This is an important step in our strategic
growth outside China
and will provide us with an opportunity to
leverage the strength of our balance sheet and our extensive project
development expertise to advance the Toromocho Project. We look
forward to identifying further investment opportunities in Peru and
around the world."
Formal documentation relating to the take-over bid is expected to be
mailed by Chinalco in mid to late June 2007. The Offer will be open
for acceptance for a period of not less than 35 days and will be
conditional upon, among other things, valid acceptances of the Offer by
Peru Copper shareholders owning not less than 66 2/3% of the
outstanding Peru Copper shares (calculated on a fully-diluted basis).
In addition, the Offer will be subject to certain customary conditions,
relevant regulatory approvals and the absence of any material adverse
change with respect to Peru Copper. Chinalco may waive the conditions
of the Offer in certain circumstances. The obligation of Chinalco to
take up and pay for shares pursuant to the Offer is also subject to the
receipt of certain Chinese Government approvals. If its offer is
successful, Chinalco has agreed to take steps available to it under
relevant securities laws to acquire any remaining outstanding Peru
Copper shares.
UBS Investment Bank is acting as financial advisor to Peru Copper and
Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP is acting as legal counsel to Peru
Copper.
BMO Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to Chinalco and
McCarthy Tetrault LLP is acting as legal counsel to Chinalco.
North American Investment Market Call
A conference call with senior management of Peru Copper for the North
American investment community has been scheduled for Monday, June 11,
2007 at 10:00am Vancouver time / 1:00pm Toronto time. Members of
the
investment community may participate by dialing 1-800-733-7571 within
North America and 1-416-644-3414 outside of North America.
The call will be available for replay until Monday, June 25, 2007 by
calling 1-416-640-1917 or 1-877-289-8525 and entering the pass code
21236239 followed by the number sign.
For further information please contact Patrick De Witt, Director of
Investor Relations at (604) 689-0234 or patrick@perucopper.com.
About Peru Copper Inc.
Peru Copper is involved in the acquisition and exploration of
potentially mineable deposits of copper in Peru. On June 11, 2003,
Peru Copper entered into the Toromocho Option Agreement ("Toromocho
Option") with Empresa Minera del Centro del Peru S.A.
("Centromin"), a
Peruvian state-owned mining company, whereby Centromin granted the
Company the option to acquire its interest in the mining concessions
and related assets of the Toromocho Project.
About Aluminum Corporation of China
Chinalco is the largest diversified metals and mining company in China.
Chinalco is focused on the Chinese and international aluminum markets
but also engages in resource exploration and down stream operations in
the fields of aluminum, copper, rare metals and other non-ferrous
metals. Chinaclo's largest asset is a 40.46% stake in Chalco, the
largest producer of primary aluminum in China. Chalco is the second
largest refiner of alumina and among the largest producers of primary
aluminum in the world. Chalco produced 3.0 million tons of aluminum
and 9.2 million tons of alumina in 2006. Chalco's shares trade on
stock exchanges in New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The market
value
of Chalco's shares is approximately US$32 billion, making it one of
China's
largest publicly traded companies.
PERU COPPER STOCKHOLDERS ARE
ADVISED TO READ PERU
COPPER'S
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14D-9 WHEN IT IS
AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. THE
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO
SHAREHOLDERS OF PERU
COPPER AT NO EXPENSE TO THEM. THE SCHEDULE 14D-9
AND OTHER FILED DOCUMENTS WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE WITHOUT CHARGE AT THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. THIS PRESS
RELEASE IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER
TO SELL SECURITIES OF PERU
COPPER. THE TENDER OFFER WILL BE MADE SOLELY
BY AN OFFER TO PURCHASE AND RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL TO BE
DISSEMINATED UPON THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TENDER OFFER.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors---The United States Securities and
Exchange Commission permits U.S.
mining companies, in their filings
with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company
can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms
in this press release, such as "mineral deposit", that the SEC
guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including
in their filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider
closely the disclosure in our Form F-3 Registration Statement, File No.
333-121527, which may be secured from us, or from the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS:
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" including,
but
not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of copper
and molybdenum, the timing of exploration activities, the mine life of
the Toromocho Project, the economic viability and estimated internal
rate of return of the Toromocho Project, the estimation of mineral
reserves and mineral resources, the results of drilling, estimated
future capital and operating costs, future stripping ratios, projected
mineral recovery rates and Peru Copper's commitment to, and plans for
developing, the Toromocho Project. Generally, these forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology
such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect",
"is expected",
"budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends",
"anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or
"believes", or variations of
such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results
"may", "can", "could", "would",
"might" or "will be taken", "occur" or
"be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Peru
Copper to be materially different from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks
related to the exploration and potential development of the Toromocho
Project, risks related to international operations, the actual results
of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations,
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future
prices of copper, silver, molybdenum and gold, as well as those factors
discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Form F-3 as
on
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.
and in the section entitled "Narrative Description of the Business --
Risks of the Business" in the Annual Information Form of the Company
dated March 28, 2007. Although Peru Copper has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other
factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to
be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Peru Copper does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements
that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with
applicable securities laws.
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Copyright (c) 2007 PERU COPPER INC. (PCR) All rights reserved. For
more information visit our website at http://www.perucopper.com/ or
send mailto:info@perucopper.com
Message sent on Mon Jun 11, 2007 at 5:40:16 AM Pacific Time
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