Leed Resources looking at takeover of Aussie limestone miner

Leed Resources said it had entered into a non-binding heads of terms agreement, which includes an option to acquire up to 100% of Battalion International Limited, the controlling shareholder of Australian limestone miner High Mannor Pty Ltd.

The company's shares have been suspended on AIM "until the company has made an acquisition or acquisitions which constitute a reverse takeover or has otherwise implemented its investing policy in accordance with the AIM Rules", Leed said in a statement.

"If the company has not made an acquisition or acquisitions which constitute a reverse takeover or otherwise implemented its investing policy within six months of the date of suspension then the company’s ordinary shares will be cancelled from trading on AIM."

Leed said it had already invested A$1.68m in Battalion by way of convertible loan notes.

The proposed transaction would result in the company being the controlling shareholder of High Mannor via its ownership of Battalion. If this occurred, Leed added, it expected that it would become an operating company as opposed to an investing company.

If it did exercise its to buy Battalion, the acquisition would trigger a reverse takeover.

High Mannor, which trades under the brand name of “Cultural Limestone”, extracts limestone from a quarry just north of Perth in Western Australia. The limestone is then crushed and processed into reconstituted limestone blocks and panels which are used in the construction industry as retaining walls in residential building developments.