The takeover announced in January stood “no reasonable likelihood” of being completed any time soon, Allied said, due to “broader external factors applicable to cross-border transactions of this scale.” Instead, Zijin is buying a 9.2 per cent stake in the company, injecting capital that Allied plans to use to expand and prospect. All of Allied’s mining is in Africa; in its most recent quarter, it booked a net loss of US$58.3 million. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Financial Times reported in May that Chinese regulators were skeptical of the deal and holding it up. Investors began souring on the takeover’s prospects in April, when Allied shares started trading at ever-deeper discounts to the $44-a-share purchase price Zijin was offering. Allied’s share price had fallen to about $24 by early afternoon Wednesday, well below even the $32.55 per share Zijin is to pay for its smaller stake.