Yesterday morning XCeed went into suspension pending an announcement.

When that suspension was lifted this morning, the company’s securities gained 2.3c to 3.5c on the trade of 2.1 million shares

The Australian Securities Exchange-listed company has undergone a number of changes this year, including a $1 million recapitalisation in January.

It also appointed a new managing director, St George Capital executive director George Cameron-Dow, who took up the charge to find Xceed a new business or project.

Xceed non-executive chairman Patrick O’Connor is a St George director and chairman of Western Australia’s largest water service provider, Water Corporation, and deputy chairman of resources company Perilya.

Yesterday Xceed delivered on its mission to find a new project and business, announcing the company had agreed to buy 100% of Focus Coal Investments and sell off Boron.

The Xceed acquisition is essentially a backdoor listing for Focus Coal, a Perth-based company established in October 2009.

Meanwhile, the binding Boron offer is for $1.5 million in cash and the transaction is expected to be settled in February.

Focus Coal’s executive directors are Ian Culbert and another St George Capital executive director, Stephen Belben.

The two are to be appointed to a restructured Xceed board after a number of conditions are met, including a selloff of Boron and the successful acquisition of Focus Coal with an associated capital raising.

Culbert will become Xceed’s managing director-designate, while chartered accountant Belben will become its finance director-designate.

About Focus Coal’s assets

The coal company holds a 74% interest in a South Africa coal project and the rights to purchase a majority stake in a project located in an adjacent coal field.

The 74%-owned Moabsvelden thermal coal project located in the Witbank coalfield in South Africa has a JORC compliant resource of 55 million tonnes.

A bankable feasibility study is to be undertaken for the resource in 2011.

Xceed said a mining licence application for the export-quality coal would be submitted next year and predicted a 2012 start to mine construction and commissioning.

Focus Coal also has an option to acquire a 74% interest in the Vogelfontein thermal coal project located in Witbank’s adjacent coalfield, Highveld.

Xceed said it plans to hold two meetings early next year to gain shareholder support for the transactions.

It estimates that after Boron is sold, Xceed will have $3 million in cash and would supplement this with a capital raising to secure and develop Focus Coal’s 74%-owned coal project, Moabsvelden.

The company then plans to take up the name Xceed Resources and would seek ASX approval to change the principal business activity and re-comply with listing rules.

Xceed’s shares were traded at 1.2c on Friday last week.

Some 300,800 shares were traded on that day before the company’s securities were placed in a trading halt.

Today the company’s share price was up 2.3c or 192% to 3.5c by late morning after 2.1 million shares were traded.