International law firm Bird & Bird has acted for Gulf International Minerals Ltd (“Gulf”) on its reverse takeover by AIM-listed company Vast Resources plc. The transaction comprised a £7.8 million fundraise, a US$10 million debt facility with Glencore, a Rule 9 (Takeover Code) waiver, and the readmission of the enlarged group to trading on AIM at a market capitalisation of £102.9 million.
Gulf holds a 49% interest in Joint Tajik-Canadian Limited Liability Co, known as Aprelevka. The joint venture with the Government of Tajikistan owns four gold mines, a processing plant and two tailings deposits in northern Tajikistan. The JV recorded US$8.5 million in pre-tax profit on revenues of US$36.9 million in 2025.
Strand Hanson Limited acted as Nominated and Financial Adviser, while Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited and Axis Capital Markets Limited acted as Joint Brokers. Fasken acted as legal adviser to Vast.
Partner and Head of International Capital Markets Clive Hopewell, and Senior Associate Ed Reardon, acted for Gulf.
Clive commented: “We were delighted to be asked to act for the Gulf team on this transformational deal for Vast, particularly as my own connections with Vast go back more than 20 years, having acted for the company (then called African Consolidated Resources) on its original AIM IPO.
Many congratulations to Andrew Prelea, CEO of the enlarged group, and the wider management team for taking this exciting initiative. We wish you every success for the next 20 years.”
Andrew Prelea, CEO of Vast Resources, commented: “We were very pleased to work with Clive and his team on this transaction. Given its multi-jurisdictional elements, the complexities arising from the related-party aspects, and the implied due diligence requirements, the team at Bird & Bird provided tremendous support to the Gulf shareholders in securing a fair and equitable outcome for all parties. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”
