legal proceedings update, page-126

I have enjoyed reading the various opinions regarding the possible outcome of the legal machinations. De novo's posts have been particularly informative.

My appreciation of the legal process is limited - I must have been asleep during the legal lessons at high school!! However, it appears to me that the likely outcomes are:

1. AGS and H/Q agree to co-operate and carry on as originally planned. I think this is unlikely as there would appear to be an irretrievable breakdown in this "unequal marriage". Big egos are involved.

2. The court awards AGS a larger slice of the pie and/or major damages - unlikely in my opinion.

3. AGS and H/Q agree in private to a full takeover by H/Q. This is a strong possibility but the cost to H/Q would probably be somewhere in the vicinity of a billion dollars. Can't see H/Q stumping up with that sum unless they know something we don't know about the value of the resource. Can't see Gandel selling for less than a billion.

4. H/Q decide to cut their losses and sell. This is probably an unlikely scenario but they have problems at home and it may be attractive to sell their interest to the likes of BHP or the Chinese. This would allow AGS to continue in a joint venture with the incoming partner - or more likely AGS would sell to the same entity.

I realize Option 4 is just wild speculation but strange things happen and H/Q is a very strange outfit.