hanlong offer

Sundance Chairman: Hanlong Offer Likely Based On 'Commercial Judgment'
18/07/2011 1:24PM



BEIJING (Dow Jones)--Chinese miner Sichuan Hanlong Group's A$1.44 billion offer to buy 100% of Sundance Resources Ltd. (SDL.AU) may have been prompted by the knowledge that the Australian iron ore developer was in talks with other parties on its development plans, Sundance chairman George Jones told Dow Jones Newswires on Monday.

Hanlong already holds an 18.6% stake in the company, which it purchased in March. Jones said the Chinese company made its unsolicited bid for all of Sundance on Friday night.

Jones said he wasn't aware of the reason for the timing of Hanlong's offer, but added talks with Hanlong are set to continue.

"They may believe that the project has a lot of potential, and they made a commercial judgment to buy it all," he said, referring to Sundance's 35-million-metric-ton-a-year Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon and Congo.

"We do need a partner, and we've been talking to a number of other parties about development options," Jones said. "That may have influenced their decision."

Hanlong may have to raise its bid "if they wanted to be successful," he said.

The Sundance board of directors has advised its shareholders it doesn't consider the terms of the offer to be adequate for now. Hanlong couldn't be reached for comment.



-By Chuin-Wei Yap, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 8400 7704; [email protected].