Western Area’s Board of Directors unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. Perpetual Ltd., which currently owns 14.7% of the Western Areas shares, said it intends to vote in favor of the scheme.

The transaction will provide the company with an enhanced nickel portfolio and asset diversification with a combined portfolio spanning nickel and lithium including Nova, Forrestania, Cosmos, Greenbushes, Kwinana and Cosmos. It will also allow the company to develop Odysseus, progress the Mount Goode prefeasibility study and continue to exploit the Western Areas exploration portfolio. The transaction is a 3.7% premium to Western Area’s last close on December 15, 2021.

“IGO’s acquisition of WSA is a logical consolidation within the Western Australian nickel landscape and further positions us on our journey to become a globally relevant supplier of metals critical for enabling a clean energy future,” IGO Managing Director and CEO Peter Bradford said. “Both Forrestania and Cosmos are high-grade, low-cost nickel sulphide operations and this acquisition, together with our existing world-class Nova nickel- copper-cobalt operation, will consolidate our position as Australia’s leading independent nickel producer.”