Boliden AB

Morgan Stanley upgraded Nexa Resources to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $14.20 price target, raised from $13.50, sending the zinc miner and smelter's shares up 2.1% in Wednesday's trading. Analyst Carlos De Alba said the stock's recent pullback, despite zinc and copper prices rising 5% and 8% respectively over the past three months, has created an attractive entry point, though the slide suggests the market lacks confidence in the sustainability of high zinc prices. Morgan Stanley's commodity team forecasts another 13% upside to spot prices in Q1 2027 and 5% in 2027. Nexa trades at 1.5x 2027 EV/EBITDA and 2.9x price-to-earnings, below their respective five-year averages of 3.8x and 7.3x, while offering a 42% 2027 free cash flow yield. De Alba added that Boliden's tender offer for minority shareholders provides scope for potential additional upside if the company pays a premium to secure full ownership, believing Boliden has the strategic rationale and financial capacity to do so and capture the full synergies from the deal.

Golden Sky Minerals Corp. reported results from its spring 2026 soil sampling and geological mapping programs at the Mowich Target on its Rayfield-Gjoll Project in southern British Columbia, identifying strong copper-in-soil trends spatially associated with mapped diorite, monzodiorite and monzonite intrusive rocks. Copper-in-soil values rise from background levels of less than 50 ppm to greater than 300 ppm copper in several areas, with the highest assay reaching 521 ppm Cu, forming elongated and laterally continuous trends rather than isolated anomalies. Rock sampling along the margin of a diorite returned up to 2,216.1 ppm Cu, or 0.22% Cu, in close spatial association with elevated copper-in-soil response, supporting an emerging porphyry copper-gold exploration model. The company also expanded the project by approximately 7,288 hectares along its southwestern portion, covering interpreted prospective structures associated with historical copper-gold mineralization. President and CEO John Newell said the growing correlation between copper-in-soil anomalies, mapped intrusive rocks, alteration and structure is helping build a stronger geological model and providing clear direction for the next stage of exploration. The Rayfield-Gjoll Copper-Gold Project is subject to a C$20 million earn-in and joint venture with Boliden AB.

Boliden has signed an agreement with Votorantim to acquire all of its shares in Nexa Resources, representing a 64.68% stake in the mining company with operations in Brazil and Peru. The deal values Votorantim's Nexa shares at $15.29 per share, a 14.2% premium to Nexa's 20-day average price as of 1 July 2026, with a total implied consideration of $1.31bn. The transaction gives Nexa an equity value of approximately $2.02bn (€1.73bn) and an enterprise value of $3.66bn. Under the terms, Boliden will exchange 0.250 newly issued Boliden shares for each Nexa share, resulting in Votorantim receiving 21.4 million new Boliden shares, about 7% of Boliden's shares and votes. The closing, expected in the first quarter of 2027, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Boliden's CEO Mikael Staffas said the acquisition positions Boliden as a leading zinc provider and reinforces its standing as a globally important base metal producer. Following closing, Boliden will make a voluntary tender offer for remaining Nexa shares, and the deal is expected to be accretive to earnings per share with no change to dividend policy or financial targets. Boliden's net debt-to-equity ratio would rise from 24% to around 33%, and it plans to finance the transaction with a fully committed $2bn (Skr19.02bn) bridge facility. Nexa will remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and Votorantim has agreed to lock-up restrictions on most of the Boliden shares it receives.

Boliden AB posted an EBIT of SEK2.9 billion for the second quarter of 2026, a significant increase from the prior year, driven by strong performance from newly acquired mines and record volumes at ITIC. EBITDA reached SEK5.5 billion, while earnings per share came in at SEK7.81. Capital expenditure was SEK4 billion, in line with the company's plan, but free cash flow was negative SEK2 billion and net debt rose by SEK5 billion, pushing gearing to 24%. The company reduced its full-year production guidance for the Tara mine from 1.8 million to 1.6 million tons, and flagged operational challenges including ramp-up issues at Odda and lower earnings at Garpenberg.

Nexa Resources confirmed it is aware of ongoing negotiations between Boliden and Votorantim S.A. regarding Votorantim's interest in the company and expects to be in discussions with Boliden regarding a potential transaction. Earlier in the day, Boliden also confirmed the talks are taking place, following speculation that Votorantim is looking to sell its 64.7% stake in Nexa. Nexa is one of the world's leading zinc producers, operating five polymetallic mines and three smelters in Brazil and Peru.