street talk latest

The Sundance Resources-Hanlong Mining stand-off continues after the two parties failed to make meaningful progress on price negotiations in Hong Kong earlier this week.

Street Talk understands the bid price is in the range of 45¢ to 47¢, with each of the parties agreeing to drop conditions around a no-shop clause currently included.

It is also believed Hanlong has promised to provide evidence that the China Development Bank will finance the deal, helping to bolster some certainty for long-suffering Sundance investors.

However , even though the board has signalled it would accept less than 50¢ a share, some shareholders are holding out for more, opening the door for another bidder to emerge.

With significant progress made toward securing mining conventions in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, some think a rival bid could be forthcoming once the terms with Hanlong are bedded down.

Elsewhere, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest isn’t convinced the mining boom is over yet. If he’s right, the boom will surely last another 16 months, which is when Fortescue will have to repay $US1.5?billion to any bank joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch on its latest syndicated loan.