Shabandri,Both of the articles talk about how convoluted the...

Shabandri,

Both of the articles talk about how convoluted the deal is and how determined the management and the Chinese are to get this through, but neither of them mention the crucial shareholder approval.

At the end of the day it all comes down to the shareholder vote in July. If the shareholders vote NO then the management cannot issue any shares and I think at that point all offers of financing will be withdrawn and the Rand deal will fall through.

This will probably be bad for the GDO share price in the short term but will be better for the smaller shareholders in the long term as we get the full upside from ME and Ventersberg.

Talk of having a "strong" shareholder on board is only good if that shareholder does not have majority control and their interests are aligned with all other shareholders.

The Chinese government are not interested in profitability or share price appreciation. They can use the company to do more deals while loading up on debt from the chinese banks, ensuring they control more resources while the profits are fed back to the Chinese in the form of ever higher interest payments and punitive hedging arrangements.

I would be very careful before getting into bed with such a "strong" shareholder, you may end up crushed rather than having all your dreams come true!