VANCOUVER - Aurizon Mines Ltd. (TSX:ARZ) said Monday the British Columbia Securities Commission has extended its shareholder rights plan, amid a hostile takeover bid by Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX:AGI).
The miner said the consent order, which expires on March 4, was agreed upon by both Aurizon and Alamos.
The rights plan was originally supposed to cease trade on Feb. 19.
Alamos has proposed a $780-million deal for Aurizon, which was rejected by the company's board in late January.
In a statement, Aurizon said it continues to advise its shareholders to not tender to Alamos' "inadequate bid."
Aurizon has eight properties in Quebec, including the Casa Berardi gold mine, as well as several development and exploration projects, while Alamos has a mine and mineral rights in Mexico and an advanced development project in Turkey.
Alamos is offering $4.65 in cash or 0.2801 of an Alamos share for each Aurizon share with the cash portion capped at a maximum of $305 million and the stock portion limited to 23.5 million Alamos shares.
However, Aurizon has said the offer was actually less than $4.65 per share due to the price of Alamos shares, which have traded lower since the proposal was first announced in January.
Alamos already owns a 16 per cent stake in Aurizon.
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