in the absence of a superior proposal, page-28

From todays The Age:

"The blip we had on commodity markets has put the scare in some lenders," Catalano says. "So you have names like Consolidated Minerals, Atlantic and Mirabela Nickel trading way below par because of project risks and also because of soft prices due to China." Sinking valuations are also threatening to slow mergers and acquisitions in the sector, with companies reluctant to market themselves too cheaply to acquirers, some analysts and fund managers say.

"In the past when you look at M&A deals, a 30 per cent premium was normally sufficient for deals to go through," says Catherine Raw, co-manager of investment manager BlackRock's BGF World Mining Fund.

"But in the current market where companies are trading at significant discounts to NPV (net present value) but aren't in distress, boards of these companies won't even consider bids unless the premium is closer to 50-70 per cent," Raw says.

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Shame our board is willing to sell OUR assets to Hanlong at the VERY LOW RANGE of NPV. And this fair value for shareholders for a first over strategic asset in the new iron ore region?

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/smaller-miners-scrabble-around-for-cash-20121112-2979k.html#ixzz2Bzll7yJ9