Takeover panel puts the squeeze on Regent Pacific
Regent Pacific's A$345 million (HK$2.8 billion) on-off takeover of Australian iron ore miner BC Iron is now on again. A week after the Australian Takeovers Panel ruled that Regent Pacific's grounds for abandoning the takeover were unacceptable, Regent has put in place financing that it had previously terminated. Regent's board has also decided to change its recommendation to its shareholders that they now vote in favour of the A$3.30 per share deal, according to a statement on BC Iron's website.
In March Regent announced that it was withdrawing its bid because it believed that Consmin, BC Iron's majority shareholder, was opposed to the deal. This was based on an article published on a US website which said that Consmin was 'flatly opposed' to the deal without quoting anyone directly.
Consmin, however, said that it had written to Regent saying that it was waiting to see the independent expert's valuation of BC Iron. The report should hold no mysteries for Consmin which must have a reasonable idea of its value. Lai See wonders if Consmin, which is controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Ganeddy Bogolyubov, is hoping that Regent's offer will flush out a higher bid. This is not an entirely comfortable position for Regent Pacific, which finds itself between a rock and a hard place in that it has the Australian Takeovers Panel squeezing it on one side and the possibility that Consmin could vote the deal down on the other.
Bitter row over dual listing
The bitter row over manganese miner OM Holdings' (OMH) planned Hong Kong listing moves to Singapore today. OMH, which is headquartered in Singapore but listed on Australia's ASX, can expect a hostile AGM today, when shareholders will be asked to vote on proposal to allow the company to dual list in Sydney and Hong Kong.
The move is opposed by Consmin, which owns a minority 11.4 per cent stake. Consmin unsuccessfully attempted to block today's meeting in an Australian court but was instead granted a hearing on May 13 to discuss the proposed dual listing. Consmin is opposing the dual listing since it is to be accompanied by a massive issue of 345 million shares equivalent to 68 per cent of existing shares in issue, at a 20 per cent discount to its current price and moving its primary listing from Sydney to Hong Kong.