SOMERVILLE ARTICLE13 Mar 2018 13:17
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Minoan updates (at last!) on sale of Travel division and Cavo Sidero. Buy
By Nigel Somerville, the Deputy Sheriff of AIM | Tuesday 13 March 2018
No-one could ever accuse AIM-listed Minoan (MIN) of doing anything quickly, but this morning�s announcement appears to suggest that things are finally moving. It is still speculative (both in terms of whether two deals happen, and how long they�ll take) but the shares are a buy.
Firstly, on the sale of the Travel and Leisure division, we are told that an exclusivity agreement has now been signed and due diligence is under way. We are also told that the sale (assuming completion) will leave Minoan �substantially� (ie not quite) debt free. But at least we can expect the Hillside loan to be paid off. We are also told that trading has improved, with Q1 gross sales up 15% and commission up 10%.
That is good news, and one might hope for a deal to complete in the not too distant future.
On the company�s Cavo Sidero project in Crete, where they have had full, final and irrevocable consent since the formal announcement that final appeals had been dismissed back in June of last year, things appear to have taken a significant turn for the better.
You have to have had the patience of a saint to see this through � and we are still not there yet! But that is why the shares are as cheap as they are - and that's the opportunity here, for I believe that we are within months of significant news which will turn the company's fortunes on their head. This morning the company announced:
The Company has recently received an approach from a credible party which has expressed an interest in acquiring a significant stake in the Project. Discussions are at an early stage and the Company will provide shareholders with an update in due course.
Ok, it is at an early stage, but we are told that this is a credible party. We were also told that the potential buyer of the travel division was credible and that looks to be progressing in line (if slowly!) with what we were originally told. So this looks to be a very positive development.
What we are not told, sadly, is an order of magnitude for any potential deal. Given that discussions are at an early stage, I guess that Minoan is playing its cards close to its chest. However, this appears to be the sort of deal Minoan was talking about when I chatted with the company at last year�s UK Investor show.
The company goes on to say that its share price is currently so low that issuing shares via a placing is just too expensive and that it is in discussions over a small debt fundraising which will keep the lights on whilst we await the above potential sales to materialise. The implication for me is that a sale of a �significant interest� in Cavo Sidero would pay that off and leave the compa