Rival suitor emerges for StanmorePeter KerResources reporter
Aug 7, 2019 — 7.01pm
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battle for control of Stanmore Coal has escalated, with a private coal investment group making a non-binding, unfunded offer to acquire the Queensland coal miner.
The proposal by Winfield Group Investments comes less than two weeks after Stanmore's biggest shareholder Golden Investments tried to force a board spill that Stanmore management labelled as an unofficial attempt to gain control of the company.
Winfield's non-binding, indicative proposal suggested it may be willing to pay between $1.50 and $1.70 per share; a notional valuation that dramatically exceeds the 95¢ per share offered by Golden Investments when it sought to acquire Stanmore in November 2018.
The bottom end of Winfield's proposed price range values Stanmore, which mines an intermediate coking coal product at Queensland's Isaac Plains complex, at $390 million.
Winfield's proposal price also lands within the $1.48 to $1.90 range that BDO Corporate Finance deemed to be "fair value" for Stanmore
Winfield's proposal may never lead to an actual offer, but Stanmore looks set to give the private company an opportunity to conduct due diligence in the hope it does spark a concrete takeover offer.
Winfield bought 12.5 per cent of Glencore's Rolleston coal mine in February, and Winfield's managing director is John Canavan, brother of federal resources minister and passionate coal advocate Matt Canavan.
Stanmore managing director Dan Clifford said they were a credible party.
''Even though it is non-binding, in the context of what has been happening we believe it is material," he said.
"This is a very real proposal for shareholders to start to understand, and as the due diligence and the process unfolds, we will keep our shareholders informed and up to date.''
Mr Clifford and Stanmore chairman Stewart Butel would be dumped from the Stanmore board if Golden Investments has its way at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders later this year.
Golden Energy requested that extraordinary meeting on July 29, and Mr Clifford declined to comment when asked if Winfield's proposal would force a delay of that meeting.
But Mr Clifford did reiterate his view that Golden Investments' board spill attempt was designed to gain control of the board and therefore control of
That claim is based on the notion that Golden Investment's nominees to the board, including Cameron Vorias, the top Australian executive of Japanese giant Sojitz, would be loyal to Golden Investments.
But Golden Investments, which has coal mining interests in Indonesia, says Mr Vorias would be an independent director, and it therefore would not have control of the board.
Mr Clifford said the non-binding proposal had been received on Wednesday.
In a statement, Winfield said it was working with financiers to secure the necessary funding for a possible acquisition of Stanmore, and said due diligence may take four weeks.
Winfield said it would retain management and directors of Stanmore under any acquisition until at least the completion of a review.
(20min delay)