The story appears on

Page A6

April 4, 2015

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeBusinessEnergy

Aussie miner鈥檚 no action tip

AUSTRALIAN gold and copper miner PanAust’s board is advising shareholders not to take any action over an A$861 million (US$655 million) takeover bid by China’s state-owned Guangdong Rising Assets Management while it assesses the offer.

Brisbane-based PanAust’s Chairman Garry Hounsell said the unsolicited takeover came when the miner’s share price and copper and gold prices were near five-year lows, and was below what Guangdong Rising pitched when it mulled a takeover last year.

“The PanAust board will consider the takeover offer and will provide advice to shareholders in due course,” Hounsell said in a letter to investors.

“In the meantime, the board recommends shareholders take no action in relation to the takeover offer.”

The Chinese state-owned enterprise launched the bid on March 30, offering A$1.71 a share, a 17 percent premium to the stock’s six-month weighted average, and valuing PanAust at A$1.1 billion. The SOE already owns about 23 percent of PanAust, and will pay A$861 million in cash to mop up the remainder. The Chinese company tested the waters for a takeover bid last year, indicating it was willing to pay A$2.30 a share and undertaking due diligence on a potential deal before backing out of the proposal.

Shares of PanAust have climbed 41 percent to A$1.74 since the offer was lodged, indicating investors expect a better bid will emerge.

But SOE Chairman Wei Zhu said at the time of the bid that the chance of another buyer with a better offer was low given the cash premium and the SOE’s stake in the mining firm.


 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend