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Red 5 cashes in on Silver Lake stake

In the final unwinding of the complicated links between gold miners Red 5 (ASX:RED) and Silver Lake Resources, a parcel of shares in Red 5 has been sold for a nice profit.

The sale resulted from Red 5 acquiring Silver Lake in June of this year in what was a backward merger. Red 5 bought Silver Lake, but Silver Lake was actually the dominant and larger group and drove the deal.

In the deal, Red 5 acquired 411.7 million of its own shares that Silver Lake had purchased to initiate the deal (and ensure no one else could overbid).

Now that the two companies are consolidating their merger, it’s time for the Red 5 shares to go—so out they’ve gone at a nice profit.

Silver Lake paid 26 cents each for the stake, and Red 5 says they have been sold for 33.5 cents each—for a total return of $136.8 million against the purchase cost of nearly $108 million.

No doubt the series of record gold prices in July and earlier this month (above US$2,400 an ounce) made the parcel of shares look more attractive.

The 33.5 cents each price was actually at the end of the price range for Red 5 shares in July—they peaked early on at 42 cents on July 12 and again on July 24 and ended the month at 39 cents.

“The share sale simplifies Red 5’s capital structure and continues to deliver on the commercial logic of the merger,” it told the ASX on Thursday.

The sale follows the repayment of the outstanding loans under the company’s previous project finance facility and restructuring of the hedging facility, resulting in new terms with limited covenants reflective of a standalone hedging facility,” the statement revealed.

Red 5 says it (and Silver Lake) has cash and bullion of approximately $498 million and no debt following the repayment of the project finance facility in July.

“Red 5’s balance sheet provides it with the ability to maximize the value of its portfolio and pursue opportunities to deploy capital from a position of strength,” the statement added.

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