Northern Star-Saracen merger to pave theway for others
Speaking at the Resources Rising Stars 2020Investor Forum, Widdup said the famous Lion investment clock had hit 10o'clock.
The clock was at 9 o'clock in January andthe COVID-19 pandemic threatened to prematurely send it to midnight -signalling a crash.
However, since that March market slump, theASX 100 Resources index was up 34% and the ASX Gold index was up 62%.
The money that has come into the market -driven by gold - has pushed the clock to 10.
"10 o'clock feels like it's getting close to the end of the cycle- it's only two clicks from midnight," Widdup said.
"But in previous cycles, 10 o'clock onwards has taken years.
"It's the beginning of the best bit of the cycle.
"You're going to see juniors doing 10 times in this market -they'll be popping left, right and centre."
While news of a successful COVID-19 vaccine trial have rocked the goldmarket today, Widdup said governments around the world would continue to printmoney to stimulate struggling economies.
"As far as I'm aware, [the vaccine] hasn't turned off any printingpresses," he said.
"Gold, for me, still has a strong outlook, though I expect it tobe influenced by the short-term news cycle."
Widdup is also tipping an accleration ofmerger and acquisition activity.
Things were kicked off last month with NorthernStar Resources and Saracen Mineral Holdings' A$18 billion merger of equals.
"It's logical to assume that deal hasignited the world's interest in M&A and gold," Widdup said.
Widdup said despite the time in the cycle,there hadn't been as many deals as expected.
He expects the Northern Star-Saracen dealwill be a template for others.
"It could tempt people to fill thatgap," he said.
"There's a space for people to growinto.
"M&A starts with sensible M&Aand we haven't seen nonsensical M&A yet."
Widdup said the industry had largely failedto invest in growth over the past decade, but the market was finally at a spotwhere investors would back growth again.
"M&A is a big and rapid part ofthat, so watch out for that coming."
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