article in today's afr

There is an article in today's AFR. General gist, is that it is a small placement to a strategic Chinese investor. Deal with Xstrata makes the most economic sense, but implies that they are playing hardball, and EXS needs to move the project forward and not wait in limbo for Xstrata to come to a commercially acceptable arrangement.

So, possibly (MY INTERPRETATION), this small placement to a Chinese investor may bring bidding tension and get Xstrata to deal on more appropriate terms or risk missing out altogether.