oz to sell assets if minmetals' bid fails

Media FYI

Article from: Dow Jones Newswires
IF the proposed takeover of OZ Minerals by China Minmetals fails, then asset sales will be the company's only option.

Bruce Loveday, executive general manager of business support at OZ Minerals, said he believed the miner could survive the asset sales, but it would be a “very different company”.

“We would have to sell assets that we consider important to the future of the business,” said Mr Loveday, at a conference in Singapore.

Mr Loveday said the company’s board explored all refinancing options in debt and equity markets before deciding the Minmetals takeover was in the shareholders’ best interests.

“The only way Minmetals would agree (to refinance OZ Minerals’ debt) was if they take over 100 per cent of the business and that seems fair enough in the circumstances.”

The Foreign Investment Review Board has delayed a decision on China Minmetals’ $2.6 billion takeover bid for OZ by 90 days, leaving the struggling miner at the mercy of its banks.

OZ has until Tuesday to negotiate with its banks to extend about $1.1 billion worth of debt arrangements to September 15, two weeks after a scheme implementation agreement between OZ and Minmetals terminates.