Silvercorp hit with delay to proposed Adventus acquisition (NYSE:SVM)

Silvercorp Metals (NYSE:SVM) -1.4% in early trading Monday after saying its proposed C$200M acquisition of Adventus Mining Corp. (OTCQX:ADVZF) has hit a snag in its expected closing last Friday.

Adventus’ (OTCQX:ADVZF) El Domo project in Ecuador is central to the acquisition, but litigation challenging the environmental license for the copper project has emerged as a potential hurdle to completing the deal.

Silvercorp (SVM) said the litigation aimed at voiding the environmental license is a “material adverse effect,” thus failing to fulfill a condition outlined in the acquisition agreement.

In a separate statement, Adventus (OTCQX:ADVZF) said it disagreed with Silvercorp’s (SVM) interpretation that the litigation represented an unmet condition for closing.

The deal has gained shareholder approval and was cleared by the Ontario Superior Court on July 2.