A firm controlled by one of Abu Dhabi’s most influential dealmakers has made a bid for Kenmare Resources Plc in a move that could give the Gulf city a source for titanium as it looks to bolster critical sectors locally.
Kenmare said it received a non-binding proposal from International Resources Holdings regarding a possible cash offer, according to a statement. The firm didn’t disclose details of the offer, but its shares surged as much as 41% to 255.5 pence a share.
The Dublin-based miner, with a market capitalization of £214 million ($283.6 million), had rejected a takeover proposal last year from a consortium comprised of Oryx Global Partners and former managing director Michael Carvill. It said at the time the offer at 530 pence per share undervalued the business.
Kenmare operates the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in Mozambique and generates most of its revenue selling titanium-bearing ilmenite. The company is locked in drawn out discussions with Mozambique over extending the firm’s rights to process and export minerals, which involves negotiating an increase in the royalty rate paid to the government.
The IRH offer comes as Abu Dhabi looks to bolster its capabilities across the defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing sectors. Titanium is an important material for many these industries.
The proposal is another example of Abu Dhabi’s willingness to continue doing outbound deals amid the regional war.
IRH is a subsidiary of International Holding Co. that has a market capitalization of $215 billion and is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose brother is president of the United Arab Emirates.
Sheikh Tahnoon is best known as the defacto business chief of Abu Dhabi’s wealthy ruling family. He oversees vast swathes of the city’s oil wealth as chairman of its biggest wealth fund, its top lender and and its main artificial intelligence investor. These institutions have become some of the main vehicles for deploying the emirate’s substantial capital around the world.
IHC is Abu Dhabi’s largest listed firms and counts IRH as one of its units. Like other IHC units, the mining group has been prolific in recent years. It entered the mining industry in late 2023, when it struck a $1.1 billion deal for Zambia’s Mopani copper complex.
Last year, it agreed to acquire a majority stake in Alphamin Resources Corp., gaining access to one of the world’s biggest tin mines.
By Olivia Fletcher, Adveith Nair and William Clowes)
