Specialty metal and chemical products firm 5N Plus Inc of Montreal, Quebec, Canada has entered into a full and final settlement agreement with Florinvest SA, Heresford Ltd, Metals Corp SCRL and S.R.I.W. SA, which are all former shareholders of MCP Group SA, in relation to the dispute announced on 21 December 2012.
Formed in September 2007 from the merger of specialty metal firms MCP Aramayo Ltd and Sidech SA, MCP produced and distributed bismuth and bismuth chemicals as well as other specialty metals (including gallium, indium, selenium and tellurium), used in products mainly related to industrial and electronic applications.
Founded in 2000, 5N Plus now provides specialty purified metals including bismuth, gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, cadmium, selenium and tellurium, and it also produces related II-VI semiconducting compounds such as cadmium telluride (CdTe), cadmium sulphide (CdS) and indium antimonide (InSb) as precursors for the growth of crystals for solar, LED and eco-friendly materials applications.
5N Plus acquired MCP from the vendors on 11 April 2011, from which there remained a balance of the purchase price and accrued interest of about €54m. 5N Plus filed a counterclaim in arbitration proceedings against the vendors as it estimated that they had breached the representations and warranties of the acquisition agreement. Following that, other civil proceedings were begun.
The full and final settlement entails: (a) a final adjustment to the purchase price through the final payment by 5N Plus of an all-inclusive lump sum of €17.5m to the vendors (of which €15m was paid at closing, with the balance to be paid on 9 April 2014); (b) the withdrawal and cancellation of all arbitration and civil proceedings; and (c) the granting of mutual releases and discharges.
"We are pleased with the outcome and the complete settlement of this dispute as it will allow our management to solely focus on the corporation's main objective of increasing shareholder value," comments 5N Plus' president & CEO Jacques L'écuyer.
