Charles Jillings, CEO of Utilico, energized by strong economic momentum across Latin America. Watch the video here.
It's just yet more miscommunication/ erroneous information. I find it quite appalling.
I have asked HL for further information;
Who is conducting the investigation they mentioned. Is it just an internal HL probe, an outside party or regulatory body?
I have also asked just who is their "proxy voting provider" that gave them the wrong information ?
Seriously, this just goes from bad to worse! I have just received this message from HL, further to the one received earlier on...
Dear .....
I am writing to highlight an error with part of the communication you were sent on 11/04/2024.
In that correspondence, we wrote: “We had written confirmation from Shanta Gold that votes would not be carried over”. This was incorrect. Shanta Gold have at no point issued any communication to HL stating previous votes would be cancelled.
This miscommunication from HL was caused by information provided, in error, by our proxy voting provider, not Shanta Gold themselves.
To clarify the situation, any votes that have been placed by clients since the online voting facility was made available on 26/01/2024 will be retained and submitted.
Kind regards,
Corporate Actions
Following the outcome of the last vote, I wrote to HL regarding my concerns over the poor communication and misdirection from Shanta over the whole process. This is their response below:
Dear ......
Thank you for your message regarding Shanta Gold.
We can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation. We had written confirmation from Shanta Gold that votes would not be carried over so we relayed this to clients very shortly after the initial communication. We were then contacted by Shanta Gold, and we were advised that votes would actually carry over so we also relayed this as quickly as possible to clients.
I believe further confusion arose from there being a secondary meeting open for online voting. We have an in depth investigation into how this all arose, the miscommunication, how we can ensure this sort of situation does not arise again in the future.
We apologise for any inconveniences and confusion caused.
We will be happy to support with any information we are able to provide subject to any restrictions we may have upon us due to the investigation.
Please also accept our apologies for the delay in response.
I hope this has been of assistance. If you have any other questions, please get back to me.
Kindest regards
Corporate Actions
Hargreaves Lansdown
Should the bid fail, with the recent rise in gold price I can't see the SP falling back much, if at all. This whole debacle has been suppressing the price, so perhaps it will go up, rather than fall?
There are also some reports due in the near future, that should show some good results.
I find the lack of communication from the company (and from some brokers, looking at you HL) quite disturbing. That is certainly no way for a company to conduct corporate actions.
To me, the fact that no one on here appears to have a clear idea what is going on just highlights the high level of confusion.
To my thinking, surely the company is duty bound to release an RNS informing shareholders that there has been a significant and material change involving the takeover bid and that their original voting preferences as made in the first vote are now void and that shareholders have to vote AGAIN to express their preference.
Where is that RNS informing us of this vitally important information?
As was mentioned on here earlier today, their most recent RNS, the board recommended that shareholders do nothing..!
I have written to the Court too. Not sure how much of an impact it will have, but the lack of communication from Shanta over such an important vote seems very poor indeed and may have a significant impact on the outcome of the vote.
Your previous votes no longer count.
Just to confirm what Sunshine69 wrote earlier, the HL website requires shareholders to vote again. My previous NO vote had gone and my holding was listed as "No instruction given" so I had to vote again.
As Sunshine69 advised, go to "Home >My accounts & dealing" home page on the right via "Shareholder meetings" and vote again if you want to register your votes.
*** YOU NEED TO VOTE AGAIN by 22 MARCH if you want your votes to count! ***
Some parts wouldn't C&P properly, but this gives you most of it :)
------------------
Shanta Gold catches the eye, partly because the gold price is moving higher, almost unnoticed, and partly as the precious metal producer has only just finished with shaking off the attentions of a trio of predators.
Merger and acquisition activity is hotting up in the gold mining business, as evidenced by Agnico Eagle’s merger with Kirkland Lake and then Agnico’s joint bid for Yamana Gold, alongside Pan American Silver, which trumped a rival offer from Gold Fields.
Sceptics might say these deals are merely efforts by miners to extend the lifetime of their operations. Bulls will argue that they show there is value to be had in an industry that continues to attract little attention even as the economic backdrop remains a potentially fertile one for precious metals.
They seem to do best when markets lose faith in central banks and there has to be a risk that more questions are asked if they fail to deliver the promised “soft landing” while at the same time conquering inflation, given how they made a total hash of it with their argument that inflation would be “transitory”.
Any one of persistent inflation, stagflation or panicked rate cuts in response to an economic downturn could yet bring gold back into the limelight.
Buying a stock solely in the hope of a bid is a mug’s game but there is more to the Shanta story than that. Operational performance should improve at its core asset, New Luika in Tanzania, and the commissioning of a second site in the same country, Singida, should lead to sharp increases in production at a lower “all-in sustaining cost”.
If all goes to plan, shareholders could be in business. If New Luika sees a repeat of 2021’s troubles or Singida is late, or both, the shares could suffer, so the risks are clear even before potential gold price volatility is taken into account.
Shanta Gold key facts
• Market value: £105m
• Turnover (Dec 2022 estimate): $118m
• Pre-tax profits (Dec 2022 est): $8m
• Yield (Dec 2022 est): 2pc
• Most recent year’s dividend: 0.1p
• Net debt (June 2022): $3m
• Return on capital (Dec 2021): 2.9pc
• Cash conversion ratio (Dec 2021): n/a
• p/e ratio (Dec 2022 est): n/a
That said, there is some protection. The first-half results in August revealed net assets of $168m, or £140m at current exchange rates, so shares in the £105m company trade well below book value. Shanta could just be worth its weight in gold.
Questor says: buy
Statement regarding possible offer
The Board of Shanta Gold Limited ("Shanta") notes a recent press article and confirms that it has received approaches from Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd ("Shandong"), Yintai Gold Co., Ltd ("Yintai") and Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd ("Chaarat") which may or may not result in an offer for the Company.
Whilst discussions are continuing with each party, there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made. Further announcements will be made in due course, as appropriate. In the meantime, Shanta shareholders are advised to take no action.
Under Rule 2.6(a) of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code"), Shandong, Yintai and Chaarat must, by no later than 5.00 p.m. on 15 November 2022, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the Company in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline can be extended with the consent of the Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code. This announcement has not been made with the consent of Shandong, Yintai or Chaarat.