VANCOUVER, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Asanko Gold
Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX, NYSE American:
AKG) announced today that the Company has received
approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") to commence a
normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB") on November 15, 2019 to purchase up to 11,310,386
common shares, representing 5% of Asanko's issued and outstanding
common shares (226,207,730 common shares) on the date hereof.
Purchases pursuant to the NCIB will be made on the open market
through the facilities of the TSX and the NYSE American Stock
Exchange ("NYSE American") and other alternative trading systems in
Canada and the United States.
All common shares purchased by Asanko under the NCIB will be
purchased at the market price at the time of acquisition in
accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX and NYSE American
and applicable securities laws. All common shares acquired by
Asanko under the NCIB will be cancelled and purchases will be
funded out of Asanko's working capital. Although Asanko has a
present intention to acquire its common shares pursuant to the
NCIB, Asanko will not be obligated to make any purchases and
purchases may be suspended by the Company at any time.
In accordance with the rules of the TSX, the maximum daily
purchases on the TSX under the NCIB will be 33,499 common
shares, which is 25% of the average daily trading volume for the
Company's common shares on the TSX for the six months
ended October 31, 2019. In addition, maximum daily
purchases under the NCIB on the NYSE American will be subect to
Rule 10b-18 which specifies that
daily purchases may not exceed 25% of average daily trading volume
for the four weeks preceding such trading date. These maximum daily
limits will apply to purchases on the respective markets,
except where such purchases are made in accordance with "block
purchases" exemptions under applicable TSX and NYSE American
policies.
Asanko is commencing the NCIB because, in the opinion of its
board of directors, the market price of its common shares, from
time to time, may not fully reflect the underlying value of its
mining operations, properties and future growth prospects. Asanko
believes that in such circumstances, the outstanding common shares
represent an appealing investment option for Asanko since a portion
of the Company's cash balance can be invested for an attractive
risk adjusted return through the NCIB. The board of directors of
the Company believes that the proposed purchases are in the best
interests of the Company and are an appropriate use of corporate
funds.
The Company will enter into a share purchase plan (the "Plan")
to facilitate the purchase of common shares pursuant to the NCIB
and under which its broker may purchase common shares according to
a prearranged set of criteria. The Plan will enable the purchase of
common shares at any time, including when the Company would not
ordinarily be active in the market because of internal trading
blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise.
To the knowledge of the Company, no director, senior officer or
other insider of the Company currently intends to sell any common
shares under the NCIB. However, sales by such persons through
the facilities of the TSX, NYSE American or other alternative
trading systems in Canada or
the United States may occur if the
personal circumstances of any such person change or any such person
makes a decision unrelated to these purchases under the NCIB.
The benefits to any such person whose shares are purchased would be
the same as the benefits available to all other holders whose
shares are purchased.
NCIB will terminate on November 14,
2020, or earlier if the maximum number of shares under the
NCIB have been purchased. The Company reserves the right to
terminate the NCIB earlier if it feels it is appropriate to do so.
The Company has not made any purchases of its common shares during
the past twelve months.
About Asanko Gold Inc.
Asanko is focused on building a
low-cost, mid-tier gold mining company through organic production
growth, exploration and disciplined deployment of its financial
resources. The company currently operates and manages the Asanko
Gold Mine, located in Ghana,
West Africa which is jointly owned
with Gold Fields Ltd. The Company is strongly committed to
the highest standards for environmental management, social
responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and
neighbouring communities. For more information, please
visit www.asanko.com.
Forward-Looking and other Cautionary
Information
Certain statements and information contained
in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws and "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
laws, which we refer to collectively as "forward-looking
statements". Forward-looking statements are statements and
information regarding possible events, conditions or results of
operations that are based upon assumptions about future conditions
and courses of action. All statements and information other than
statements of historical fact may be forward looking statements. In
some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use
of words such as "seek", "expect", "anticipate", "budget", "plan",
"estimate", "continue", "forecast", "intend", "believe", "predict",
"potential", "target", "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" and
similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting
future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.
Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but
are not limited to: the commencement of the NCIB; the number of
common shares ultimately available to be purchased by the Company
pursuant to the NCIB and the purchase price of such common shares;
the Company's entrance into the Plan; the intention of the
directors, officers and other insiders of the Company to sell
common shares pursuant to the NCIB; and the term of the NCIB. Such
forward-looking statements are based on a number of material
factors and assumptions, including, but not limited to: that the
Company will commence the NCIB; that the Company will purchase
common shares pursuant to the NCIB; assumptions in respect of the
price of the Company's common shares; that the directors, officers
and other insiders of the Company will not sell common shares
pursuant to the NCIB; general economic conditions; and that
there is no material adverse change in the price of gold or other
metals.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to differ materially from those
anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The Company
believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these
expectations will prove to be correct and you are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained
herein. Some of the risks and other factors which could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements contained in this news release, include,
but are not limited to: the Company may decide not to commence the
NCIB or repurchase any common shares pursuant to the NCIB; the
Company may terminate the NCIB prior to its expiry or the purchase
by the Company of the maximum number of shares pursuant to the
NCIB; the Company's invrestment in its own common shares may be
uneconomic; ; and the Company's common shares may experience price
and trading volume volatility; the Company's revenues are dependent
on the market prices for gold, which have experienced significant
recent fluctuations.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements,
you are cautioned that this list is not exhaustive and there may be
other factors that the Company has not identified. Furthermore, the
Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by
reference in, this news release if these beliefs, estimates and
opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise
required by applicable law.
Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry
Regulatory Organization of Canada
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
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SOURCE Asanko Gold Inc.