Perseus Mining Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 70 per cent stake in the Meyas Sand gold project in Sudan to the Matrix Group for a total cash consideration of US$260 million (AU$370 million).
The transaction, executed through a share purchase agreement between Perseus’s subsidiary Perseus Sudan Holdings Pty Ltd. and Hong Kong Matrix Golden Fortune Mining Ltd., marks a strategic pivot for the gold miner.
The company’s decision to divest comes after a comprehensive internal review of Meyas Sand.
Perseus initially acquired the project in 2022 through its acquisition of Orca Gold Inc. However, the protracted armed conflict in Sudan has hampered the company’s ability to develop the site at a suitable scale.
Perseus CEO Craig Jones noted that while the project remains high quality, the sale is a vital step in portfolio optimisation.
“A strategic review of MSGP was undertaken as a result of the protracted armed conflict in Sudan and its impact on Perseus’s ability to progress the development at suitable scale,” Jones said.
“The sale represents an important step for Perseus in its portfolio optimisation and allows allocation of resources to core assets and its growth strategy.”
Under the terms of the deal, Perseus has already received a US$10 million deposit, with the remaining US$250 million balance due upon completion, scheduled for April 22.
The proceeds are expected to further bolster Perseus’s already superior balance sheet, with the company signalling that the cash influx will lead to the consideration of additional capital returns to shareholders.
Because the MSGP resources were previously reported as foreign estimates, the divestment will not impact Perseus’s reported JORC resource and reserve estimates.
