West Kenya gold explorer Shanta Gold is set to be taken over by a Mauritius-based investment fund-Saturn Resources Limited, in a deal that values the London-listed firm at £156.1 million (Sh26 billion).
Shanta Gold, which bought its Kenyan mining rights in 2020 from Canadian firm Barrick Gold, has the bulk of its assets in Tanzania, where it operates two gold mining operations.
The takeover deal, which has been in the works since December 2023, is nearing conclusion after receiving regulatory approval this month from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), Tanzania's Fair Competition Commission, the Tanzanian Mining Commission and Kenya’s Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs ministry.
A notice by the CAK said that the transaction will not have an adverse impact on the structure and concentration of the gold exploration market in Western Kenya.
“As per the parties’ submissions, this transaction will not elicit negative concerns. There will be no job loss post-merger,” said the CAK.
Saturn Resources, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mauritius company ETC Group (ETG), will own 100 percent of Shanta shares after the close of the transaction.
Regulatory filings by Shanta Gold show that Saturn will pay Shanta shareholders £0.148 (Sh24.77) per share. Shanta’s issued share capital stands at 1.051 billion, but the transaction excludes some 44.49 million shares in the company that are held by Export Holdings, which is associated with the owners of ETG.
ETG, which operates in more than 40 countries in various sectors such as agriculture, logistics, metals, and energy, is owned by Tanzania-based relatives Mahesh, Ketan and Birju Patel, who have Kenyan roots.
Shanta has been producing gold in Tanzania in Songwe District since 2012 and Singida region in central Tanzania since 2020. In Kenya, the operations in the western counties of Kakamega, Kisumu, Vihiga and Siaya are still at the exploratory stage.
