Paladin Energy to acquire Canada’s Fission Uranium for $1.14 billion

Canada’s Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU; OTCQX: FCUUF) has signed a deal to be acquired by Australian company Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN; OTCQX: PALAF) in an all-stock agreement valued at about $1.14 billion.

Paladin will purchase 100% of Fission shares at C$1.30 at an implied equity value of $1.14 billion. Existing Paladin shareholders will own about 76% of the combined company, while existing Fission shareholders will own 24%. Fission shares closed at $1.03 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on Friday.

The combination of Paladin and Fission will create a clean energy leader with an enhanced project development pipeline, multi-asset production expected by 2029, and a diversified presence across leading uranium mining jurisdictions like Canada.

“Fission is a natural fit for our portfolio with the shallow high-grade PLS [Patterson Lake South] project located in Canada's Athabasca Basin. The addition of PLS creates a leading Canadian development hub alongside Paladin's Michelin project, with exploration upside across all Canadian properties,” said Paladin CEO Ian Purdy.

Fission has applied for a license to construct a uranium mine and mill facility at its PLS property in Saskatchewan, Canada, home to the world’s richest uranium mines. The project hosts the Triple R deposit — the region’s largest high-grade deposit at shallow depth. Fission has published a feasibility study outlining the potential for the Triple R to become one of the lowest cost uranium mines in the world. The company is set to continue developing PLS through the permitting and licensing phase and on to construction and production by 2029.

Further highlights of the feasibility study show a longer mine life of 10 years, greatly increased after-tax net present value at 8% discount of $1.2 billion, higher after-tax internal rate of return of 27.2% while still maintaining a very low operating cost of $13.02 per pound. Other significant findings suggest a construction timeline of three years with an estimated initial capital cost of $1.1 billion and life-of-mine production of over 90 million lb. of uranium oxide.

Paladin also owns a 100% interest in nearly 100,000 hectares of mineral exploration licenses across six deposits; the largest of these deposits is Michelin in Labrador with a total Mineral Resource of 92 million lb. uranium.

With this merger, and these two significant uranium projects, Paladin wants to create a strong and lasting presence in mineral-rich Canada.

The Transaction is targeted to close in the September 2024 quarter.

Learn more about the PLS uranium project on www.FissionUranium.com.