takeover is now complete divvy time The dividend is free to happen now now, the t/o is complete
AuSelect wins battle for Melbourne miner
*
* Normal font
* Large font
Good as gold: the takeover result keeps Sedimentary in local hands.
Good as gold: the takeover result keeps Sedimentary in local hands.
Photo: Erin Jonasson
AdvertisementAdvertisement
Barry Fitzgerald
September 4, 2006
AUSELECT has control of Melbourne-based gold producer Sedimentary in the bag following the failure of Canadian group Premier Gold Mines to secure financing for its $87.5 million counter-bid, which had won the endorsement of Sedimentary's board.
AuSelect had late on Friday received acceptances for at least 40 per cent of Sedimentary under the terms of its scrip-only offer of two of its shares (trading at $1.30 each) for every nine Sedimentary (trading at 29.5¢), valuing Sedimentary at 28.88¢ a share.
The failure by the yet-to-list Premier to secure financing for its 31¢ a share cash counter-bid freed Lion Selection — the mining investment group that created AuSelect — to accept the AuSelect bid for all of its 23.7 per cent Sedimentary stake under a pre-bid acceptance agreement.
Acceptances to the AuSelect offer have also risen in response to that group's promotion of its offer on a net tangible asset backing basis, rather than the value imputed by its share price. The argument was that based on AuSelect's post-tax net tangible asset backing on August 31 of $1.507, its offer was worth 33.5¢ a Sedimentary share.
Sedimentary's main asset is its 30 per cent stake in the Cracow goldmine in Queensland. Newcrest, which owns the rest, said recently it was not interested in joining the Sedimentary takeover battle and would consider offers for its 70 per cent interest in the mine.
AuSelect managing director Robin Widdup said on Friday that the group was now "hoping to mop the whole thing up, which is just fabulous as it keeps the asset in Australia".
"There is no need to prolong all this now," he said. "If people want to screw around, we're happy to close without taking 100 per cent. But it would be nice if we can quickly bring the thing to account.
"It's very simple now for people. They either accept or take the risk of being locked in as a minority."
The takeover was the first step in the plan to convert AuSelect from an investment group to a medium-sized mining company. "A number of other things lie ahead of us as we go down the track to turning AuSelect into a mining company," Mr Widdup said.
LSG
lion selection group limited
