Ann: MEO completes share placement , page-7

If they offered them to us retail holders everyone would have sold part/all of their holdings off to get in at a far lower price. At least this way they have the cash to drill and the SP shouldn't drop much.

Also:
"The placement has raised gross proceeds of approximately $27m before costs of the issue and was heavily oversubscribed. Settlement is scheduled for Monday 23rd November. MEO welcomes more than twenty new Institutional investors onto its register"

So it would appear that after their little AFR article many Insto's may have perhaps taken notice of the situation.