JSE-listed gold miner, Central Rand Gold (CRG), on Friday said it had entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beijing’s Ankong Investment (Ankong), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Phoenix Tree Investment Group (Phoenix Tree).

The Ankong MOU also contemplates the potential disposal of 100 percent of the shares held by CRG in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Central Rand Gold (Netherlands Antilles) N.V. to Ankong for $148 million. The subsidiary owns the assets of the CRG.

The agreement is subject to a number of conditions including mutual completion of due diligence by both CRG and Ankong, the Central Rand Gold obtaining all necessary regulatory and exchange approvals for the potential sale of the subsidiary.

CRG and Ankong have agreed that the finalisation of all required due diligence and the execution of a formal share sale agreement should be completed by 31 March next year.

Central Rand Gold is in the process of establishing a virtual data room that will be made available to Ankong in order that interested parties are treated equitably and will have access to identical information. The MOU with Ankong has been entered into on a non-exclusive basis.