Franco Nevada launches US$600m all-cash bid for International Royalty

Franco-Nevada has launched an all-cash bid for one of its rapidly growing rivals, International Royalty.

RENO, NV - 

Mega mining royalty player Franco-Nevada has launched an unsolicited US$600 million all-cash takeover bid for rival upstart International Royalty.

Toronto-based Franco is offering Cdn$6.75 per share, a 43% premium to the closing price of IRC shares on the TSX on December 4, 2009.

IRC Chairman and CEO Doug Silver said in a statement late Sunday the IRC board will meet with its legal and financial advisors "to consider an appropriate response to Franco-Nevada's intention regarding the offer and the board will communicate further with IRC's securityholders in due course."

IRC holds 84 royalties including an effective NSR royalty on the Voisey's Bay mine, a sliding scale NSR on the Chilean portion of the Pascua-Lama project, a NSR on the Las Cruves project and a NSR royalty on gold in Western Australia.

Its market cap on the AMEX as of December 4, 2009 was $421.4 million.

Franco Nevada holds 300 royalties with 82% of its revenue coming from the U.S. and Canada. Those holdings include royalties from Goldcorp operations, Stillwater Mining, Newmont's Gold Quarry operation, Coeur d'Alene's Palmarejo mine and First Quantum's Robinson project.

Among Franco's new royalties are Newmont's Ahafo South mine in Ghana, Goldcorp's Marigold mine in Nevada, and BHP's Mt. Keith in Australia. Franco had a market cap of $3.1 billion as of December 1, 2009.

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