Clayton Utz assists Anglo Pacific Group on US$185m royalty portfolio acquisition

Clayton Utz has assisted London-based Anglo Pacific Group on its acquisition of a royalty portfolio from Australian proprietary company South32 Royalty Investments.

Pursuant to the transaction, Anglo Pacific Group agreed to acquire a high-quality portfolio of royalties over advanced development stage copper and nickel projects from South32 for a fixed value of US$185m, with contingent consideration of up to US$15m.

Anglo Pacific CEO Marc Bishop Lafleche confirmed that the deal positions the company as the leading global natural resources royalty and streaming company, with copper, nickel, and cobalt at the core of its commodity exposure. Moreover, the acquisition of South32 portfolio provides compelling growth and complements Anglo Pacific’s significant weighting to income producing assets.

The newly acquired royalty portfolio includes a 2% net smelter return royalty on the West Musgrave copper and nickel project in Australia; a 2% net smelter return royalty on the Santo Domingo copper project in Chile; a 1.5% realised value royalty on the Nifty copper mine in Western Australia; and a 5% net smelter return royalty on the Carlota copper mine in Arizona.

Corporate partners Brett Cohen and Stuart MacGregor led the Clayton Utz team in finalising the deal. They were supported by senior associate Georgia Denny and lawyer Luke Crofts.

“It has been a privilege to work with our long-standing client Anglo Pacific Group on this significant acquisition of a high-quality portfolio of royalty interests over advanced development projects in multiple jurisdictions around the world,” Cohen and MacGregor said.