announcement spp

As expected the shortfall in the SPP has been picked up by the major shareholders.

$2 million committed for 101.5 million shares between Lundin, RAB and Kestrel at 2 cents with those who paid 2.7 cents recently to be given chance to buy some at 2 as well.

I don't want to overplay this as if the dispute is never resolved then their money is gone with ours. However I do find it an interesting announcement particularly in respect of RAB.

Lundin is maintaining their position and Kestrel have really only bought back what they sold off in late 2005 at around 7-8 cents. RAB however has significantly increased their overall stake from 11.87% to 18.91% of the company which is only just short of Lundin's holding. RAB, a leading investor in small and emerging stocks, have been a loyal shareholder to date so I am choosing to view this as a positive statement of expectation on their part - but I am an optimist by nature so others may view it differently.

Importantly, to me, RAB's interests, as an investor, loosely align with that of small shareholders as opposed to the opaque interests of Lundin as a competitor as well as major shareholder. Consequently I like the fact that they are now of similar strength to Lundin. I expect that RAB will seek to have greater influence on the direction and may seek a seat on the board to balance that held by Lundin and that held by James Collins-Taylor who is effectively for Kestrel.