new offer?, page-9

ASIC has questioned the "independent evaluator" as to how they valued PWT shares at 2.7c when it was trading at more than twice that. Looks like Roslyndale and Wiltel cooked the books and in so doing opened the door for a low bid by TVG. Not so smart.

Fight to control PowerTel heats up.

Whether HK private equity firm Telecom Venture Group or local syndicate Roslyndale secures PowerTel will depend on how its biggest investors, WilTel with a 34.6% stake and Downtown utilities with a 35% stake, vote. WilTel is contractually obligated to accept Roslyndale's offer should the majority of PowerTel shareholders vote in favour of that proposal next month but one source close to PowerTel said there may be an out for WilTel if its bankers backed TVG's proposal rather than Roslyndale's. The source said Roslyndale's proposal was also conditional upon approval from WilTel's bankers. TVG is expected to lobby DownTown utilities heavily. At PowerTel' s AGM earlier this month, DTU indicated that while it was not opposed to Roslyndale's offer, a final decision had not been made. Meanwhile ASIC has forced the independent expert PwC to better explain why it judged a bid for the company from the Roslyndale syndicate to be fair and reasonable. This included a justification of its forecasts for the company and an explanation why the value of the bid, at about 2.7¢ a share, was below the 4.8-6.6¢ per share trading range on PowerTel's shares leading into the transaction.