crikey - assets sales tomorrow, offer price up, page-35

US$200M from good old OH for Martabe, eh?! That's about AU$307M. Crikey don't put a value on their other rumoured sale of GG to be announced tomorrow, but they must be expecting big dollars for it if they think it will cause MM to increase their current 82.5c per share offer.

The scheme of arrangement between OZL and MM states that if OZL achieve more than AU$425M for the combined sale of Martabe and GG, then MM will increase their offer by the amount over AU$400M achieved.

Let's say that by some miracle OZL achieve AU$500M for the combined sale of Martabe and GG, then that's obviously above the AU$425M threshold stated in the scheme of arrangement, so MM would have to increase their offer by AU$100M (AU$500M - AU$400M).

With about 3.25B shares on issue, that means the MM offer would have to increase by AU$100M/3.25B = AU$0.03 per share. That's 3 cents per share, so the offer goes to 85.5c per share.

It all helps, I suppose, but hardly Earth-shattering. And, that's if OZL get AU$500M for the two assets, which is probably doubtful.

Anyway, clearly MM are happy to see the assets go, otherwise the clause would not have been written into the scheme of arrangement, so selling the assets for any price is not going to upset the offer.

And if it strips away some of the assets that BHP or any other suitor are not likely to be interested in, then maybe it makes it that much easier for them to come in with a competing bid?

Regards, GJC.