Unnamed party buys near 8pct stake in Herald Resources HERALD RESOURCES By Rebecca LeMay PERTH, Jan 29 AAP - The takeover battle for Herald Resources Ltd has taken a new twist, with an as yet unidentified buyer snapping up an almost eight per cent stake in the gold and base metals explorer. The transaction, towards the close of trading today, involved the mystery buyer acquiring 15.43 million shares at $2.50 each in a $38.58 million deal. Analysts said the trading activity was unusual but were unable to identify which party might be trying to rival the $2.25 a share offer for Herald by a subsidiary of Indonesia's PT Bumi subsidiary, Calipso. Herald accepted Calipso's bid on January 30, which valued the target at $444.8 million, but said it aimed to attract a higher offer from possible third parties. Herald had cited the recent fall in equity prices as a reason for accepting the bid. In a statement today, Herald said that it continued to talk with interested parties to get a better takeover offer and that some discussions were at an advanced stage. "The directors will immediately inform the market of any developments in relation to these discussions," Herald said. ABN AMRO Morgans analyst Tom Sartor said there was obviously "a bit more excitement to be had". "Anyone to go up against the incumbent in Indonesia is a fairly big call ... given that they've got the best relationship with Herald," Mr Sartor said. "It's all about relationships and red and green tape to get through these days, so obviously it's a lot easier if you've got a relationship with the (Indonesian) government." DJ Carmichael resources analyst James Wilson said that in the past three months, there had been five spikes in trading in Herald's stock, with more than five million shares changing hands in each instance. Much of these were attributable to Calipso, which held a 19.6 per stake in Herald at last count. Herald has urged shareholders who intend to accept the Calipso offer to hold off until near the end of the offer period, which expires on February 15. The company made the statement today after noting the sharp rise in its share price, which closed 14.16 per cent, or 31 cents, higher at $2.50. Euroz Securities Ltd, which is being engaged by Herald as its adviser in the takeover defence, has valued Herald at $3 a share. Late last month, zinc and lead miner Perilya Ltd pulled out of the running for Herald, selling its 8.86 per cent shareholding. AAP rlm/jmc
HER Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
