Panel order leaves A2MP’s Canyon strategy and valuation under scrutiny

Panel Orders Corrections to Canyon Takeover Disclosure

The Australian Takeovers Panel has ordered A2MP Investments FZCO to prepare corrective disclosure over its lapsed takeover bid for Canyon Resources Limited (ASX:CAY), turning a disputed offer into a disclosure process that is still not finished. The Panel’s final orders require A2MP to correct or expand material statements made in its bidder’s statement and supplementary bidder’s statements.

The takeover offer for Canyon shares that A2MP did not already own or control lapsed on 21 September 2026. The order follows the Panel’s 28 October declaration that the circumstances surrounding the bid were unacceptable, including inadequate disclosure, the use of Canyon confidential information in connection with the offer and a combination of factors that had the potential to pressure shareholders into accepting an offer priced at a significant discount to pre-offer trading prices. That declaration was covered in the Panel’s unacceptable circumstances finding.

A2MP Must Explain Its Strategy and Funding Plans

The corrective disclosure must address what A2MP’s strategic intentions were in relation to Canyon at the time of its bidder’s statement, including any intentions concerning the use of Canyon’s bauxite. It must also explain A2MP’s funding intentions, with reference to a 30 July 2026 letter sent to AFG Bank Cameroon.

The funding question carries particular significance because Canyon recently withdrew its target for a first bauxite shipment in the fourth quarter of 2026 after AFG Bank suspended further drawdowns during a project funding review. That earlier update reported the AFG funding review. The Panel’s order does not determine the outcome of Canyon’s project financing, but it requires A2MP to ensure its disclosure does not confuse shareholders about either its past or current intentions.

Revised Project Assumptions and Confidential Information Under Scrutiny

A2MP must provide enough information for Canyon shareholders to assess the basis for revised assumptions it applied to Canyon’s definitive feasibility study. The order specifically targets statements on pages 11 and 12 of the bidder’s statement, as well as other statements with substantially similar effect.

The disclosure must also state that some of Canyon’s information informed A2MP’s financial analysis and was made available to its financial advisers, who provided valuation and pricing analysis in connection with the bid. A2MP must explain whether, and to what extent, that information informed the revised feasibility study inputs or other information in the bidder’s statement.

A2MP must submit a draft to the Panel within three business days of the 6 November orders. After any Panel review and revisions, the final disclosure is to be sent to Canyon for release on ASX. The Panel has not yet published its detailed reasons, and the corrective document itself had not been prepared or released when the orders were announced.