Don't know if its been posted. Got this from the PLS site, posted by lester01
Small shareholders could defeat MinRes takeover of Atlas
A 30,000-strong army of shareholders is standing between Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources and its takeover target Atlas Iron, with a rebellion by retail investors starting to gather momentum.
MinRes’s $280 million all-scrip offer, which would see Atlas investors pick up one MinRes share for every 571 they hold in Atlas, will require approval of Atlas shareholders at a scheme meeting scheduled for July.
For the deal to go through, Atlas will need not only 75 per cent of total shares voted but also at least 50 per cent of individual participating shareholders to vote in favour of the MinRes offer.
The sprawling share register of Atlas, a former ASX 100-listed company that commanded a wide and loyal retail shareholder base, means minority shareholders could secure enough support to scuttle the deal even if more than 75 per cent of the total shares approve the offer.
While Atlas founder and former managing director David Flanagan has urged shareholders to support the MinRes union, there is also growing anger that MinRes is snapping up the company when it is trading at close to a record low.
Shares in Atlas once traded at more than $4 apiece, but the stock was massively diluted due to an emergency equity raising at 5c a share and subsequent debt-for-equity recapitalisation when Atlas was at death’s door in 2016. That has left tens of thousands of investors holding tiny parcels of shares.
Atlas’s most recent annual report showed the company has 31,560 individual shareholders, including almost 19,000 shareholders with total stakes valued at $500 or less. There were also almost 5000 individuals whose Atlas shares are worth less than $20. In comparison MinRes has 5607 shareholders on its register.
AGO Price at posting:
2.9¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Not Held
