Clearly Evraz is positioning itself to stall the tenement sale...

Clearly Evraz is positioning itself to stall the tenement sale to MCC. The normal logic would be to garner as much support from small shareholders as possible to deny the resolutions at the meeting on Monday. Any TO offer at a substantial price would do this but shareholders need sufficient time to send in (or alter) their proxies to arrive 48 hours (bus days) before the meeting in Perth. Thus in principle a TO offer should have been announced today or tomorrow. However, if for some reason Evraz was not quite ready to make a public offer, it is not lost. The fact that it has made offers to buy 20% of shares from three large holders at 90c sends a strong message that it has definite intentions. This alone may be enough to swing votes its way. 39% (19 + 20) is a substantial quantity. Even a last minute TO proposal may swing directors' votes. Some shareholders leave their votes open to the chair's discretion. There is therefore still significant room to manoevre.

Juke