Would seem plan B is being played out in the background -...

Would seem plan B is being played out in the background - perhaps Alsons will do a capital raising and have a tilt at IRN??

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Alsons Consolidated gets Indophil stake in Tampakan mine

BusinessWorld
Posted at 12/22/2010 12:46 AM | Updated as of 12/22/2010 12:48 AM


MANILA, Philippines - Listed firm Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. has purchased 29.1 million shares in Australian miner Indophil Resources NL owned by the holding firm?s affiliate Alsons Corp.

The development came ahead of a deadline for San Miguel Corp., which owns a tenth of Indophil Resources, to submit a takeover proposal to the Australian firm.

?[Alsons Consolidated] Chairman Tomas I. Alcantara said the purchase will transfer ownership interest from the privately held Alsons Corp. to the publicly listed holding company, whose major revenues are currently derived from its power and energy business segment,? the firm said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday.

Indophil Resources? main asset is a 37.5% stake in the $5.2-billion Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato. Swiss-led Xstrata Copper, the world?s fourth-largest copper producer, holds the remaining 62.5%.

Alsons Consolidated said the purchase of the nearly 4% stake in Indophil Resources translated into an indirect ownership in the Tampakan project.

The holding firm added that Indophil is already a partner of subsidiary ACR Mining Corp. for the Manat gold mining claim in Compostela Valley, where exploration work is under way.

Based on Sagittarius Mines? latest resource estimates, the Tampakan project has 13.5 million metric tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold. Development in the mining site is expected by 2012, while production will start by 2015, with full-scale production scheduled a year later.

San Miguel holds a 10.1% stake in Indophil Resources. The conglomerate bought the stake in October under a deal worth A$41.29 million or approximately US$40 million.

San Miguel bought the shares for A$0.86 apiece. Under the deal, San Miguel has an exclusivity period until Jan. 10 next year, during which it can submit a control proposal or a takeover bid to Indophil Resources.

Shares in Alsons Consolidated closed at P1.38 apiece yesterday, 1.43% or P0.02 lower than the previous closing of P1.40 apiece.