The name is hardly original, but OZ Minerals doesn’t pay tribute to the two companies that married yesterday, Oxiana and Zinifex.
They made it to the altar and a merger, despite the whisper of spoiler bids from the likes of Teck Cominco of Canada and Xstrata of London and Switzerland.
But at least they have a jazzy website and all things being equal, a far better spread of existing and potential businesses.
Copper and gold in Oxiana, to add to the zinc and lead businesses in Zinifex, and far more clout as a merged group than two separate companies of roughly equal size.
The upshot of the merger of Zinifex and Oxiana is the new name for the merged entity that will be known as OZ Minerals.
The name was unveiled yesterday at a meeting of Zinifex shareholders in Melbourne who voted on a scheme of arrangement to support the merger.
"OZ Minerals is a bold name reflecting the coming together of two successful companies," Oxiana managing director Owen Hegarty said in a statement issued to the ASX.
"OZ Minerals will have an enhanced position in the global mining sector."
Zinifex’s $4.2 billion merger with Oxiana will create the world’s second-largest zinc producer.
The combined group will have four operations in Australia and Asia, three near-term projects in development, combined cash on hand of about $2 billion and a growth pipeline spanning 10 years.
Oxiana brings its developing Prominent Hill find and new strikes to the table as a major growth path; Zinifex has Allegiance Nickel Tasmanian mine and its own Dugald River zinc and lead prospect in northern Queensland as other significant growth options.
Oxiana is offering 3.2 of its shares for each Zinifex share.
Oxiana shares have fallen 31% in value since the deal was announced as prices of some of the commodities it sells including copper, zinc and lead have fallen
OXR shares finished at $2.71, down 10c and Zinifex shares slid 22c to $8.67, more in disappointment that a counter offer didn’t appear, rather than a negative view of the merger.
