A takeover has to be fairly transparent, and a premium would need to be paid. Nobody would pay 1 billion for Ardea right now, and yet a Chinese company paid 2.5 billion for a 56% stake in a Congo mine. The numbers are just ridiculous. VW is paying 27 billion in compensation for being caught cheating to get a fuel efficient image, and for $50 million they can buy Ardea with its huge cobalt reserve and full supply chain for lithium cobalt batteries to corner the market on EVs. We are just small change to companies with deep pockets. But they still don't want to pay more than they have to. So the best way to get a company is to pick off the falling small fruit and look for stressed sellers with large parcels and make private deals until a controlling interest (51%) is accumulated. Once there, stack the board, disadvantage the minor stakeholders by making ambiguous announcements and delaying development, and eventually, all the minor players will just surrender.
Perhaps unrealistically, I would like to see a mine like KNP, used to position Australia in the new energy economy. If Twiggy or Gina would step up to develop Aussie batteries, and possibly a new EV, industry could get the kickstart that it so desperately needs. Why can't we supply our own gigafactory in WA? If Nevada and Arizona are perfect locations for a gigafactory, how much more our own WA? Unfortunately, Australia is a very expensive place to be industrious. But we can still dream.
ARL Price at posting:
75.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
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