the way i see it..., page-10

Just to correct something here, BON have no ownership of Sandpiper. It is UCL's project and so far as I am aware there is not even a shareholder's agreement in place for the Joint Venture. This is the whole point of UCL's takeover bid today, they feel they cannot take the risk of MAK prejudicing the successful timely development of Sandpiper. The Meob tenements are of lesser grade and quality.

MAK management have stuffed up here. They could have foreseen that UCL would have concerns and acted to put them to rest instead, eg in the revisions to the Bidder's statement, they've exacerbated them. Even if MAK win the battle (the most likely outcome) they have run the risk that they won't have Sandpiper.

It's a bold and unlikely play from UCL but don't presume out of hand that they can't pull it off. UCL scored the jewel tenement in the area under BON's nose, have brought in the key third parties (Coromandel and Jan de Nul) to the joint venture with BON and have found new shareholders and raised funds (albeit expensive) off Sandpiper this year - all while in a similarly precarious financial position as they are now. Clearly they won't go down without a fight and certainly stranger things have happened in the history of the stock market.