I particularly like the following quotes by Cottee in the AFR article:
re: the Santos deal:
“To a large extent this deal is what I call the bean counter’s deal: it solves the financial tsunami that was going to descend on the company,”
and then, re: a possible next JV:
"Mr Cottee said talks about the second deal were being complicated by the large size of the potential partner. “No one ever tells one how to negotiate at an MBA course against some of the world’s biggest companies with the world’s weakest balance sheet,”
It was not too long ago that the detractors were questioning Cottees deal when he signed on ... I suspect that for many shareholders it is going to look cheap at the price.
Also, expect the 65 million 12.5c option (holders) to be persuaded to exercise their options putting an additional ~$8M into the cash coffers ... and JV number 2 might also require re-imbursement of a part of past exploration costs (for those who were wondering where the Surprise development costs would come from.) ... time will tell
... and if some think all the media reports and company visibility 'just happened', think again ... this is starting to look like a well-co-ordinated and executed strategy.
Good luck (although I suspect we may already have that).
(PS: just be wary of potential destabilisers with personal vendettas against certain Board members ... they have been silenced by the good news but they could cast a dark cloud over this good weather!)
CTP Price at posting:
82.5¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
