Nevsun Resources says not aware of any buyout bid: Reuters

(Reuters) – Canadian miner Nevsun Resources Ltd said it is not aware of any bid for the company, responding to a Bloomberg report that mining fund QKR Corp was close to making a bid.

The company’s shares rose as much as 25 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after Bloomberg said QKR Corp, a fund led by former JPMorgan Chase & Co banker Lloyd Pengilly, is close to making a bid of about US$1 billion.

Vancouver-based Nevsun, which owns 60 percent of the Bisha gold, copper and zinc mine in Eritrea in East Africa, said it received proposals for transactions from various parties and these discussions were at a preliminary stage.

QKR Corp is backed by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding LLC and Kulczyk Investments. It is focused on acquiring and building a diversified portfolio of development and growth assets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

Nevsun’s U.S.-listed shares, which rose as much as 20 percent after the Bloomberg report, were up 9 percent at US$4.10.

The company’s Toronto-listed shares were up 9 percent at $4.64.

(Reporting by Sneha Banerjee in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

(This story has been edited by Kirk Falconer, editor of peHUB Canada)

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