Member Info for cl2201

Anyone going to offer Dan a job?

Yes, Nioko.

'Dan Betts will cease to be Executive Chairman but is expected to remain with the Company in a Non-Executive Chairman role'

'So this does kind of smack of opportunism'

For me, it's absolutely this. With Kouroussa likely to hit commercial production this quarter and gold prices (in my opinion) set to move higher in 2025, it makes sense to make a move whilst Hummingbird is fragile. That said, whilst responses here don't necessarily represent that of the average shareholder, the overwhelming 'against' suggests that it will be difficult for Nioko to move past the rule 9 waiver resolution - they may have overplayed their hand.

@MIKODX - that's not the case as of now. They haven't offered anything.

'Nioko is considering making a firm offer for the entire issued share capital of the Company it does not own at a price of 2.6777 pence per share (the "Offer")'

'It mystifies me how people are allowed to vote on anything at a time when any potential offer is unknown/unconfirmed. This seems totally unfair/bonkers to me'

I can understand those voting 'No' at this point since any (first) offer will be at, or below, 2.6777 and presumably said voters have already decided it's unacceptable - I don't, however, understand those voting 'Yes' since an offer hasn't yet materialised. Unless of course they're fine with being a shareholder in a private company?

I'm not sure it's a question of egos - Calibre made a non-binding offer early on in the sales process which was rejected by Condor. I doubt there's any animosity - it just didn't reach Condor's expectations.

The question now is whether they look at MTL's bid and think it's worth upping the offer to get a deal over the line. They are the most natural fit, and it's clearly a bargain - it just whether or not makes enough sense to them.

A 44p offer, cash and MTL paper, would likely suffice. The CVR should be removed entirely.

'Chinese are so connected to Ortega in Nic and were recent visitors so when MC said they had a preferred bidder i suspect they refer to the Chinese'

I'm not sure if they are/were necessarily the preferred bidder, but they placed "quite a high" non-binding offer at the end of September, so it's certainly reasonable to assume they are still interested.

'More interesting to me is that the MTL offer seems like it may be a hostile one. Our BoD have not endorsed it, nor recomended it to investers. So they want more than £90m.'

I also find this interesting. Given JM's 26.1%, surely that means he can essentially veto any deal that doesn't suit him - thus a hostile bid surely would be futile here - unless his position as director means he has to sit on the sidelines when it comes to the vote?

"Is it suggestive of the end game is not far?"

This is what I can't help concluding after reading the RNS multiple times - especially when looking at the following section:

'£200,000 is available from the 4 November 2024 and £275,000 is available from 2 December 2024. Any amount of the Facility not drawn down by 31 December 2024 will automatically be cancelled.'

Why specifically 31 December 2024 as the end term for draw-down. Also, the fact that it's a loan and not loan notes (no share dilution), in my book, adds extra weight to the theory.

Altyngold (not AIM but small cap) comes to mind - they restructured a number of years back and the Assaubayev family took a 65%+ shareholding, which they maintain to this day. If the fundraise here is as big as some speculate, there would naturally be one (or more) shareholders with a holding surpassing 30%.

I sold out today and I was quite surprised they would take 300k shares in one go. I ended up selling 200k and then 100k to lock in a better average price, but the ease with which the sale went through suggests someone is keen to hoover up shares. I was tempted to hold, but, as a couple have mentioned here, I just can't see how the fundraise won't end up with at least a temporary drop - however big or small that may be.

My feeling is that TFG is the major shareholder backing the raise - it's logical given their current holding (and influence). They get an exception rubber stamped for them to own above 30%, without triggering a bid, and all of a sudden they own 80%+ of the company. This would likely be the best deal for PIs given that TFG are sticky holders - certainly better than a bucket-shop placing outfit.

Not available for me, unfortunately. Thank you @TommyD_19

Are the AGM resolutions available online?

"But reading the end of this RNS is a little worrying"

The context is important.

Both Atopix Therapeutics Limited and Zymenex Holding ApS were acquired by Chiesi Group, so their IP would have been absorbed into the larger group and the voluntary liquidation a bookkeeping exercise.

@Wigster77 - Thank you (and Doc83) kindly for taking the time to put this together - it's much appreciated.

It's outdated - Fieldfisher is the company's solicitor now.

https://www.synairgen.com/investors/advisers

It did seem like a strange coincidence, given the timing, that perhaps it was a job posting from January 2022 (when the partnership commenced). I can confirm, however, that the listing can also be found on Ashfield Engage's US career site, so that rules out date errors - it is genuine and current.

@Aether

The Senior Clinical Trial Associate position was one of the two listed on Hobson Prior in October - that has been filled by the person who moved from Seagen. The other position was Clinical Project Manager - the assumption, from my side at least, would be that the successful candidate has started or will start soon, depending on whether they had to see out a specific notice period with their former employer.

From Titania's post (job posting):

"....Our client is focused on comprehending how and why some people's lungs are unable to defend themselves."

From Synairgen's About page (https://www.synairgen.com/about):

"Understanding how and why some people’s lungs are unable to defend themselves has been at the heart of the Synairgen story for nearly 50 years".

It will be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out. Their (SOU) Investor Q&A released on 24th February doesn't provide any updated information as they are, of course, bound by the rules of the Takeover and Mergers panel, however, it's clear they see (see answer to question 2) the potential purchase of Angus as a way of diversifying their business.
I think the overriding factor will be how much of the enlarged entity they are willing to give up to Angus shareholders as to whether they make an offer. With their SP slipping back considerably since the initial approaches, they would need to part with a higher % now, so it's a case of persuading their shareholders it's worth it - possibly citing the incredible increase in the gas price.