Avoca shares slide further after merger announcement

Sharinput size and output size of your raw material and the capacity per hour you needes in gold miner Avoca Resources fell another 10 per cent today in a clear sign investors remain unimpressed with its decision to merge with a US-based, Turkey-focused gold explorer. Yesterday the gold miner announced it had signed a merger agreement with Anatolia Minerals Development to create an intermediate producer owned 50/50 by Anatolia and Avoca shareholders with a combined market capitalisation of about $US2 billion ($A2.18 billion).

Avoca shareholders will receive 0.4453 Anatolia shares for each Avoca share they hold. The new company, to be called Alacer Gold Corp, will be dual-listed in Australia and Canada and have offices in Colorado, Turkey and Perth. The proposed scheme of arrangement will be subject to approval by shareholders of both companies at meetings later this year. UBS analyst Jo Battershill yesterday said in a note to clients that the logic of the deal was "difficult to comprehend", given Avoca predominantly mined underground in WA while Anatolia was developing a heap leach project in Turkey.