Australia and South Africa-listed Gold One International said on Tuesday that Namibian regulators had given the greenlight to its takeover by a Chinese consortium, removing one small hurdle to complete the transaction.
In May the company, a small gold miner, said a Chinese consortium had taken steps to take a majority stake in it.
“Gold One is pleased to announce that it has been informed by the Consortium that the Namibian Competition Commission has unconditionally approved the transaction,” it said in a statement.
“All other remaining regulatory conditions precedent to the Transaction, which include ... relevant Chinese approvals, are progressing well,” it added.
Gold One shares were 1.76 percent lower in Johannesburg at 390 cents, lagging a 0.72 percent increase in the wide all-share index .
The consortium of long-term strategic partners includes Baiyin Non-Ferrous Group, a subsidiary of the CITIC Group, which is China's biggest state-owned investment company, and the China-Africa Development Fund.
China's resource-focused investment in Africa has mostly side-stepped gold producers but a Chinese investor has also expressed an interest in buying the troubled Blyvoor mine from South Africa's DRDGold , the country's fourth largest gold producer. - Reuters