I attended bothpresentations in Adelaide on 20th September and my expectations werepleasantly exceeded.
It was good to meet our 2 new Board members and my early assessment is that Cheryl Edwardes and James Gurry will bring the professionalism, experience, independence, knowledge and hopefully the tenacity to the FMS Board that that Board needs.
The presentation was generally clear and many questions (but not all) were answered adequately.
The egregious and self serving decision by the Board to pay themselves an extraordinarily generous exertion bonus for their “coercive” de-listing effort was thoroughly condemned. The significant effort by many who worked tirelessly at considerable expense both personally and financially over the Christmas Holiday period and beyond to defeat this proposed de-listing was stressed.
Our near total distrust of the previous FMS Board and the deep skepticism of shareholders of any proposed deal with TIO(NZ) Pty Ltd/BBIG was clearly expressed at the meeting. They were also told that all shareholders will require any proposed deal be very good before minority shareholders will even consider approving it or not.
I wascomforted by the process that was explained for the appointment of an IndependentExpert. It was not mentioned at the meeting but many of us remember that an Independent Expert recommended that the offer from TIO(NZ) Pty Ltd of 2.5 cents per share in 2016 was “fair and reasonable”. I am sure that they understand that any proclaimed “fair and reasonable” proposal will be dissected in great detail by well informed, experienced and knowledgeable shareholders.
The 2 new Directors appear to have a sound appreciation of the strategic advantages that FMS has with any proposed deal with TIO(NZ) Pty Ltd/BBIG, the total unacceptability of minority shareholders having to endure no financial return for many years after FMS has spent (and risking) at least $150m to proving-up the resource on which BBIG will base their multi-billion dollar project.
They also appeared to understand that a significant upfront payment direct to FMS shareholders and the provision of funding (not just loans) for FMS’s ongoing experiences is just the first step in getting a YES vote.
The 2 new Directors and David McAdam stated that there will be further presentations around Australia with “more meat on the bone” in the near future.
It wasdisappointing that there were only 7 in total for the 2 presentations inAdelaide and I urge all shareholders wherever you are to attend thesepresentations if possible. If my experience in Adelaide is any guide, it will be well worth your time.
The next presentation/s will have to have significant benefits to get my YES vote.
