Ann: Chairmans' Address , page-24

From The Sydney Morning Herald: (it says the recent cap raise was oversubscribed)

http://www.smh.com.au/business/sigma-chiefs-script-for-market-success-20120322-1vmrd.html

COTTEE'S CHANCE

The former Queensland Gas managing director and one-time blogger Richard Cottee has been offered another chance to turn a market-tiddler around along with another swag of options.

More than four months since failing in his attempt to spill the Nexus Energy board (on which he was lured in 2010 with a swag of options and then fell out with last year), Cottee formally started his role yesterday as the non-executive chairman of the US-focused Austin Exploration.

Austin, which is now trading at about an 80 per cent discount to its 20¢ a share listing price of 2006, just needs shareholders' approval to dilute its share base further to keep Cottee on board.

Subject to a shareholder vote, Austin will issue 5 million shares to Cottee worth $150,000 as an incentive and issue a further 15 million options, exercisable at 5.5¢ that will expire in July next year. That means Austin shares will have to double from the price they were at when Cottee's appointment was announced in January.

''Mr Cottee's achievements, reputation and industry contacts will provide great benefit to the company in future and have already had a substantial impact on the level of investor support,'' the company said in a statement.

Shareholders do not appear too concerned. A recent 2.9¢ a share raising was oversubscribed and the share price has bounced back to 3.2¢.

Shareholders will not vote on Cottee's package at next week's meeting - where they will vote on the recent placement and a change of name to BEI Petroleum - but at the annual meeting later this year. When Queensland Gas was taken over by BG in 2008, Cottee sold his shares for about $30 million.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/sigma-chiefs-script-for-market-success-20120322-1vmrd.html#ixzz1qZNLNsbL