법무법인(유한) 율촌 | Yulchon LLC

Yulchon's Outbound and Natural Resources Teams have advised the Korea Resources Corporation (KORES), with respect to a multi-part USD 1.1 billion Canadian and Chilean mining investment.
 

Upon closing, the deal would see KORES become a strategic partner of, and the largest shareholder in, Canadian mining company Capstone and the two companies jointly acquiring Canadian mining company Far West, with its Santo Domingo copper and iron project in Chile. KORES also committed to arrange financing for a large part of the capital costs to start commercial production at the mine, and KORES will obtain the rights to 50% of the off-take of the mine.

The deal is significant in several respects:
 
Large size – At USD 1.1 billion, it is the largest outbound M&A announced so far this year. This is so even if the project finance commitments are excluded, which when arranged would increase the investment by several hundred million additional dollars; 
 
Complex structure – The timing issues were unusually complex, with the multi-part investment in Capstone, the KORES-Capstone strategic alliance, and their joint acquisition of Far West all scheduled to close together; 
 
Full-package character – Not only an M&A and strategic investment, the deal also provides a complete development and production sales package by including advance project financing and 50% off-take components;
 
National strategic value – This deal will increase Korea's self-sufficiency in copper, identified as a strategic resource by the Korean government, to 30%.
 
Yulchon advised and/or represented KORES regarding nearly all aspects of the deal and during several rounds of negotiations that began in 2010. Yulchon also coordinated with local legal counsel Stikeman Elliott.
 

Yulchon founding partner Bong Hee Han and Yulchon outbound team leader and partner John K. J. Kim supervised the deal, which was led by senior attorney Byong Wook Kim along with senior associate David Linton, who represented KORES in the negotiations in Canada.