A gold miner backed by Nick Candy is closing in on a deal to buy a rival for up to £90m (€108m), writes Emily Hawkins.
AIM-listed Metals Exploration has made an offer worth £67.5m up front, and a potential £22.6m more in future, to buy Condor Gold.
The announcement came after it was yesterday revealed Metals - which is 38pc owned by property magnate Candy - was prepared to go hostile in the bid.
But Jim Mellon, Condor's non-executive chairman and one of Britain's richest men, has given an irrevocable commitment to back the deal.
This means he would vote against any rival bid.
The deal will bring together two of Britain's most colourful businessmen.
Mellon, 67, who has been described as Britain's Warren Buffett, owns 26pc of Condor, which is listed on AIM as well as the Toronto stock exchange.
Candy, 51, is married to pop star and actor Holly Valance and made his fortune through luxury London developments.
Shares in Condor soared 19.79pc, or 4.75p, to 28.75p yesterday, but are still down by almost two thirds over the past decade.
Metals shares, meanwhile, tumbled 8.8pc, or 0.5p, to 5.2p.
"Metals obviously think they can get a bargain," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at broker AJ Bell.
The deal will see Metals make the extra payment if the amount of gold found at Condor's mines exceeds estimates.
Metals operates in the Philippines and its shares have more than doubled in the past year.
Condor Gold is smaller and is the owner of the 2.3m-ounce La India Project in Nicaragua. It first started looking for a buyer for this asset in 2022.
Photo: Holly Valance and Nick Candy. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
