An unholy Trinity: USD 125m < 10 mths to resolve....., page-553

Sadly it looks like there is no 'better' deal coming from the ex directors, being November we should have read about it by now.

The deal the noteholders are ready to accept is a lot better than the rumoured $150M raise from Altura mentioned in the media a week and a half ago.

We just don't know so many details about what was going on, that many of the suggestions of foul play could be way off the mark. For instance, did Altura notify the noteholders that they needed an extra week or 2 to put the rumoured $150M deal together, which effectively negated the 31/10 'date'?

We don't know, and public information seems to have dried up completely.

The debt level that the BOD put shareholders into was at a size and interest rate that were predicated upon a perfect run for lithium and the operation of the mine. They did not seem to build in any margin of safety for when something went wrong.

Why did the board let both PLS and GXY into the data room?? I wonder how many shareholders would have read that sign as something going wrong in negotiations with noteholders? Again we don't know when or why.

IMHO all fingers of any blame should be squarely directed at the ex directors. They made out that everything was under control (including investing their own cash), when clearly it wasn't.

No annual report to look at the real financials for the last year is another telling sign that shareholders do not have all the information. An annual report is the responsibility of the BOD and the date required for it's release by a listed company has well and truely passed, before receivers and VA were appointed.

Those financials will hopefully be released soon by the receivers (they may have and are entitled to ask ASIC for a time extension), as that document would have meaning to any other potential bidders.

The deal between Pilbara and the noteholders/VA seems set to be concluded in early December, so hopefully for shareholders some other bids will be flushed out before then, extending the time of the bidding process. So far we have heard of no-one else interested, with only GXY as another party allowed into the data room (that we know of).

The biggest problem for shareholders was always going to be just one bidder, because they get a lowball price, with no-one countering. At present that seems to be the likely outcome, Pilbara picking up the company cheaply and shareholders missing out.

At least it doesn't seem a fully done deal yet, there does appear to be time for other bidders, but every day that goes by with none is fairly telling, as I would expect any potential bid to make themselves known so the process concluding didn't short circuit an outside bid.