Aurizon looks past Alamos for acquisition suitor

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Talk to George Paspalas, chief executive officer of Aurizon Mines Ltd., and you get the sense he's not trying to defend against any and all takeovers. He just wants to be bought at a good price.

It's a different message than the one conveyed in the circular Aurizon just filed following a hostile bid from Alamos Gold Ltd. The document is full of language that spouts the idea that Alamos is simply being opportunistic, offering to buy Aurizon at a 52-week low for its share price.

But in an interview Mr. Paspalas struck a different tone. Yes, he still believes the company has merit as a standalone, but his focus is on getting a good price.

"Our objective right now is to extract the maximum value," he said, adding that Aurizon has set up a data room and signed a few confidentiality agreements with prospective buyers. (With whom, he wouldn't say.)

That led to the obvious question: why is he so open to another bidder, but not Alamos? "There's nothing personal in this," he said in reference to rebuffing the current bidder. But he also wouldn't say that he'd accept an Alamos offer if they came back at a higher price.

Mr. Paspalas is annoyed with his current bidder because he says they never reached out before going hostile. The way Alamos tells it, the two companies have a long history and even signed a confidentiality agreement in 2008. But he said the relationship is actually much frostier.

"I've been here for just over 17 months so I can categorically say that during that time… I haven't had a conversation with Alamos," he said.

Yet even if he had, Mr. Paspals wouldn't say he'd be more open to their offer. He simply noted that Aurizon's been looking at potential acquisitions in Canada and certain pockets of the U.S., suggesting that he would have rebuffed Alamos any way because it didn't jibe with his geographic mindset.

(Tim Kiladze is a Globe and Mail Capital Markets Reporter.)