November 2023 – Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised the Czech company Mineral Ventures Invest spol s r.o. (“MVI”)—the sole domestic investment gold seller with its own gold mine—on a reverse takeover transaction (RTO) involving the acquisition of the majority of shares in Irish mining and exploration company IMC Exploration Group PLC (“IMC”), whose shares are listed on the prime market of London Stock Exchange (LSE).
In this intricate deal, MVI—part of the private Czech holding group Holding Zlato—has become the majority owner of MIC. As consideration for the newly issued shares, IMC has acquired ownership interest in MVI through its Armenian subsidiary, which owns a mining license for a gold mine in Karaberd, Armenia. The transaction had to be cleared with the Irish Takeover Panel, and due to the readmission of the shares in IMC, also involved the publication of a prospectus that required approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority. IMC was advised by leading Irish law firm Mason Hayes Curran.
We are delighted to have been able to support MVI in the further roll-out of its international strategy. The acquisition of majority interest in publicly listed IMC is a significant milestone demonstrating the company’s growth potential and objectives. The transaction was exceedingly complicated, entailed multi-jurisdictional coordination, and necessitated multi-disciplinary legal skills. Its successful conclusion underscores Kinstellar's expertise in navigating complex cross-border transactions and is—to our knowledge—the first successful RTO completed by a Czech company on the LSE's main market. We are honoured to have contributed to this success. The cooperation with the MVI team was outstanding, and we look forward to future collaborations.
Kinstellar’s core team was led by Lukáš Ševčík (Managing Partner) and included Václav Kment (Managing Associate) and Matěj Večeřa (Senior Associate).