Come what may, Argonaut and Shaw are going to own 10m options at...

Come what may, Argonaut and Shaw are going to own 10m options at 20c at the end of March (on top of the very healthy 6% fee), which means that on conversion of the shares they will pay 20c for those shares. If the shares are still trading at 30c, then that is a 50% immediate book profit.

Agreed that is all notional, but with a highly conservative NPV of $1.9bn against a fully diluted current market cap of $200m, it leaves a very healthy safety margin. Argonaut and Shaw know a very good deal when they see one.

By July/Aug next year, and assuming Grassy Mountain gets the go ahead, a lot of people will be wishing they had paid 20c. And by then there should be a lot more than a 50% profit on those shares and the term daylight robbery will not seem so far fetched.

Yes there is risk involved but both parties know they are being paid very handsomely indeed for a 6-7 month bet. And given the bulk of the original outstanding options were placed to high net worth individuals three years ago, I would also argue the chances they they would not be converted was pretty slim.

A great deal for Argonaut and Shaw. A poor deal for Atrum. The board and CEO should know better. Corporate governance remains poor.