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Solgold there from Monday-Wednesday next week
"Deal maker's paradise"
https://stockhead.com.au/resources/dealmakers-paradise-these-are-the-big-names-on-the-card-at-diggers-and-dealers/
Monte/Sire - good points. In fact:
Wyloo Metals head Luca Giacovazzi said: “In April this year, we were deeply concerned when the Noront Board proposed to farm out Noront’s exploration projects to BHP for only C$25m.
“Rather than consenting to such a transaction, we decided to make an offer to acquire the Company. Our fears were justified when the Noront Board completed a deeply discounted 5% placement to BHP, giving away a strategic toehold in the Company to an obvious suitor.”
I guess there are two ways of reading this. One is that the Noront board were for whatever reason beholden to BHP and seemed to be bending over backwards to hand the company to BHP at every step of the way. This is the scenario that many have feared with Solg, especially when half your board and senior execs are all former BHP employees.
The other is that the Noront board were bringing BHP in to push Wyloo into making a bid and trigger a bidding war. Which is ultimately what happened.
This all sounds quite familiar doesn't it... Solg looking to bring in JV partners on the regionals, the placing to Valuestone that you mentioned, even the Franco deal that the major holders felt was giving away value cheaply.
If the going to production plan was always just a giant charade or attempt to extract a higher takeover price and the plan was to get taken over all along (kind of what Nick Mather said via DGR the other day) then some of the steps taken were just attempts to push BHP into action but they have clearly failed. And it feels a bit like Solg is running out of runway because BHP have just patiently held back and not taken the bait. Solg now needs to raise a lot of cash to get all the various studies completed and then will have to actually fund the construction at Alpala... not good if in reality they never expected to get that far.
I would love to know who was approached in the aborted fundraise and why it failed.
rcgl - how about the chinese who got involved to help fund work on porvanir?
Did BHP have a stake in Noront at the time of the first bid?
Was a few large blocks at 26p but now removed. Not much on book to stop 26p and thereafter, nothing at all to 30p. Looks like a book that is light on confidence and perhaps expecting some news. This could be into the 30's in a flash should a 'launches strategic review' rns appear.
Well said Pad - have a good weekend all.
The Futures Bright.
The first bid for Noront was made by Wyloo, not BHP. Wyloo already controlled 37% of Noront and in May 2021 they bid 31c to acquire the rest. BHP then counter-offered with 55c and then it went back and forth until Wyloo prevailed at 110.
Obviously a good example of how the price can escalate when there are competing bidders... but, need to remember that Wyloo was already the major shareholder, started from a position of strength, and had actually begun with a pretty lowball offer of 31c.
If we are assuming BHP are going to open the bidding with Solg, they would be more analogous to Wyloo in the Noront battle rather than their own involvement. They are already a major shareholder of Solg and seem to have a pretty strong position. If BHP are playing the Wyloo role, who is going to be playing the BHP role here? Who is going to come in and counter BHP's initial bid and try to take this from them?
We all like to think loads of players want this and other majors would enter the fray, but where are they? Why haven't they bid already if that's the case? Why aren't other majors taking stakes in the business to lay down a marker, like BHP did when they came in and put themselves in pole position ahead of NCM?
Not more "leakage" ? ;)
Sean, if we're spending $5 billion per month we're in trouble.
How the eff are we spending this much money each month now? Anyone want to venture a break down?
Fort...the day before the first bid Noront was 26 cents...pretty similar huh?
Was Addickt....
If you were a financier, and SOLG approached you for say $100m and you get shares in company then you most certainly would be asking the question about what happens after that? Are you going dilute me after DFS?? This is the problem at this juncture. It's ok raising $40m for exploration as that has upside and real accretive value. But the $100m or so that 'might be' required to DFS is just a stepping stone of which the next stone is unknown and could be a drop into a steep bit of water. Nearly $3bln is needed to get this mine into production. Hence why the likes of Boliden and Franco are popular choices as they are at the end of the chain... they are banking the end product and not taking shares. IMHO, we don't need much cash to get us to the updated PFS. Possibly $20m or so. But we likely need $100m in total to see us through to DFS. So why not do a small fund raise and throw in a small bit of regional work on Porvenir to get PEA or MRE2 or 3 sorted. And then deliver the $1bln extra on Alpala - then seek JV or full asset sale deals. $26m cash will only last to October/November based on previous burn levels.
Q, I'm assuming RK was referring to the current round of funding, not that which is required for construction.
Ship, Noront had first 55 cent bid by NHP on July 27th. Winning bid was 110cents and BHP ducked out on Dec 22nd. These things take time and we are only just getting into it. Noront was 23cents prior to BHP's first bid. Are we going to see SOLG at 23p before BHP offer 55p? And then we get bid up to 110p???? You never know. SOLG's folio goes deep into Ecuador and offers a super major many opportunities to add value and derrick.
Sorry Redknight that's not true addicknt has consistently said we can't get funding to construct Alpala.
There's been a few on here that have lost the plot. Completely flapping and over reacting. TSX was calm waters and even ended around 27p level. The RNS yesterday wasn't anything unusual and of course it suits the 'city' to get all rumoured up. The reality is, we are as we were last time around and I suspect NM will not want huge dilution. So if Boliden offer a decent wedge for 1%, then lets take it. The super majors can by back 0.5% at later date and if BHP don't like that then they really need to stump up some cash to fund SOLG at 40p+ imho. SOLG has proven several times over that they really have no problems getting funds it's just pleasing all shareholders is not easy especially when the big two want you on the cheap.
here here
Nobody has said we can't get any funding. Simply that the company tried and failed this week and will probably currently be trying again...
If SOLG put this into a 'strategic review' which is parlour for a auction or open data room to bidders etc, then BHP and NCM are very exposed and vulnerable to a big bid from a competitor that may be waiting in the wings for years. I said a while ago, the best way for NCM and BHP to ensure they secure the Alpala asset is to get SOLG to partner with them in some form. Basically close the door to predators (outside of BHP and NCM). Of course SOLG don't want to do that as could be a slow death.
BHP and NCM imho have not shown 'partner' credibility and instead shown out of hand disruption techniques (last years AGM and board persuasions) and therefore the best way forwards is to forget exploration folio and instead do minor capital raise of $25m and finish PFS off with $1bln plus added to it. Then open doors to an auction process. That's it.
Agreed, will soon recover the 9% drop plus a whole lot more...gla...
Exactly Pad it’s all about the first bid… it always has been ….. the discussion should be about who not if
We’re doomed. WE’RE DOOMED.
Abandon ship.
The world class rate Tier 1 asset has disappeared. No one wants it. We can’t get any funding.
What a load of scaremongering tosh.
Hold on - the ride is just beginning. The first bid will be soon (IMHO).
Bozi, you forgot the potential for a bid war.
Do you really think that SOLG is not on a number of super major miners radar. Barrack were having cosy chats with Lasso recently. I simply don't agreed at all that things look perilous - that's utter nonsense. I highly suspect the opposite... the long awaited reality of SOLG monetising the assets is upon us as the route to finance for another 12months and year after that and year after that has run it's course. It's now about selling the assets and doing the right thing for Ecuador and their people and flipping well handing it over to a cashed up super major that can get it all moving faster than SOLG ever could.
Fort. Ball rolling in July? It's the 29th already!