RE: Times29 Feb 2020 03:13
‘Majority’ of Sirius Minerals retail investors voting against Anglo American rescue deal
Emily Gosden, Energy Editor
Saturday February 29 2020, 12.01am, The Times
Investment
The takeover of the North Yorkshire fertiliser mine developer requires approval by a simple majority of investors voting by number, and by 75 per cent of those voting by value
The takeover of the North Yorkshire fertiliser mine developer requires approval by a simple majority of investors voting by number, and by 75 per cent of those voting by value
ANDREW MCCAREN FOR THE TIMES
Share
Save
The fate of Sirius Minerals is hanging in the balance this weekend, with initial responses showing that more retail shareholders are voting against its £405 million takeover by Anglo American than in favour.
Hargreaves Lansdown, the investment platform through which 16.5 per cent of Sirius stock is held, told The Times that it had received “more nos than yeses” among the just over 25 per cent of its clients who had voted.
The 5.5p-a-share takeover of the North Yorkshire fertiliser mine developer requires approval by a simple majority of investors voting by number, and by 75 per cent of those voting by value, at a meeting on Tuesday.
IN YOUR INBOX
Your daily Business Briefing
Keep up to date by getting our Times Business Briefing newsletter straight to your inbox at 8am and lunchtime
Sign up now
Votes cast through Hargreaves Lansdown will be aggregated into one “yes” and one “no” vote by value, so will cancel each other out on the number criteria. However, if the voting trends are replicated among the estimated 7,000 retail shareholders who hold Sirius shares directly, it could scupper the rescue deal and mean that Sirius falls into administration, wiping out shareholders altogether.
Sirius has spent more than $1 billion developing the Woodsmith Mine near Whitby, where it plans to tap polyhalite from a mile beneath the North York Moors National Park and to transport it via a 23-mile tunnel to Teesside for processing and export as fertiliser.
Less than two years ago, shares in Sirius were worth 37p. They fell as the company failed to secure the $3 billion it needs to complete the mine.
It reluctantly recommended the takeover by Anglo American after concluding that it had no other option to avoid collapse.
Yesterday the shares slid a further 11 per cent to 4½p, well below the offer price, suggesting that investors fear it will not pass. The offer has elicited strong opposition from some retail shareholders who face huge losses.
They are so angry at the company that they have said they will vote against the deal “on principle” to spite management, even though they have been warned that it is likely to result in them losing the remainder of their investment. Others seem convinced that an alternative deal could yet emerge.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
