Minera Andes Accepts Revised Bid

Minera Andes board has approved of a revised bid the company from existing shareholder Robert McEwen. McEwen, who already has a 24.3% stake in Andes, is also a director at the company. The executive has said he will make the CAD40m purchase across two tranches, worth CAD19m and CAD21m each. The first tranche will be used to satisfy the cash call made for Minera Andes’ 49% interest in the San Jose Project in Argentina, while the second, which is subject to shareholder approval, will involve McEwen’s assumption of a bank loan from Macquarie Bank that is coming due presently, according to the company, which does not provide details on the debt. His revised offer follows an initial proposal to buy 121m shares at CAD0.33 per share, for a total of CAD40m. McEwen’s offer follows Hochschild Mining’s announcement earlier this year that it would make a second and formal bid of for all outstanding shares of Minera Andes that would have an implied price of CAD0.8658 per share. Hochschild has withdrawn its offer following Minera Andes’ acceptance of McEwen’s proposal.