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If this is a contentious situation between the larger shareholders, it is feasible that this could go down to the wire. Has the SAG not identified precisely when the delisting date is and whether these circumstances constitute a voluntary or involuntary delisting under the AIM rules? Both feel like fundamental points.
Continued thanks and gratitude to Les for all his efforts spearheading the push for transparency, solid corporate governance and equitable treatment of all shareholders. One has to hope that common sense and the increasingly attractive economics of the macro environment for sustained/increasing gold prices at this level take priority over any other interests/agendas. Getting relisted and monetising these assets for the benefit of us all is an exciting prospect (how we all felt when we put our hard earned into MTL and presumably still all feel deep down!) so let's keep the faith and support the Shareholder Action Group in any way Les needs.
I can’t thanks Les enough for taking this by the scruff of the neck and moving it forward. Knowing the potential scenarios and their probabilities really helps to de-stress the situation for us, while also messaging the company that we have a cohesive group of like minded and determined shareholders who are not going to roll over. I am cautiously optimistic that common sense and decency will prevail and just hope we don’t have to wait too much longer. Fascinating to ponder on what price MTL could re-list at, given the macro events that have occurred during the suspension.
Great idea Les/Volmer. I am in - will email my details shortly.
Roy - I think folks are just distracted the carnage occurring on their portfolios due to market conditions. I am guilty of this too as prices are moving elsewhere but not at MTL.
CV, that is precisely why we need to lean in on the board and make our thoughts known, by messaging the company directly. Otherwise we are a group of faceless, voiceless PIs. Ruminating on this BB, while cathartic, has no practical consequence. Take action - email the board as I have done. 20 messages with similar themes is much more powerful than one. The more the merrier.
Roy - thinking of you and wishing you all the best.
Suggest you all send equivalent notes to the company. The more inbound messages like this, the more likely to have some success. I don't care if my note is entirely accurate - the spirit and intention are there for the board to see. Any pressure is better than no pressure. It ain't over yet.
Dear Board of Directors,
I am writing in my capacity as a Metals Exploration (“MTL”) shareholder. I own c6.5 million shares in MTL. I am also writing on behalf of my father who owns c1.5 million shares.
I have particular concerns around the intentions of the company and potentially its major shareholders, in light of recent events. I, like many other shareholders, increased my shareholding on the basis of positive news flow through RNS communications from the company, concerning the removal of bank involvement in the company’s debt structure. We were led to believe by the company that its fortunes were improving and that it was operating from a more stable financial base. The share price reflected this change of fortune.
The reference to a potential debt for equity swap in one of the latest RNS communications then led to a pronounced sell off in the stock. There is concern within the MTL private shareholder community that the reference to a potential debt for equity swap might have been used as a mechanism to facilitate downward pressure in the share price, thereby providing an opportunity for the major shareholders to “squeeze out” the minority shareholders.
I remind the directors that under The Companies Act 2006, they must fulfil the Directors’ Duties, including the overriding duty under S.172 for each director to “act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole.” This means acting in the best interests of ALL shareholders, not just the majors. This is in addition to the common law duty on directors to act in the best interests of the company.
The trading patterns following the debt for equity swap related RNS were also suspicious, with the sudden sell off absorbed quite quickly with purchases, though this was not reflected in the share price. This leads me to believe the buyer may have been positioned to take advantage of the share price drop subsequent to the debt for equity RNS; possibly one of the major shareholders who had been involved in the debt for equity discussions. I reserve the right to file a Suspicious Transaction Report to the Financial Conduct Authority along these lines, so that they can investigate the source of the stock purchases and sales during this period through the executing brokers, as well as the conduct of the market makers. MTL’s large private client holding makes it a matter of interest for the FCA, given their statutory objectives to maintain orderly markets, identify and investigate market abuse and to protect investors.
I do hope the company and the major shareholders appreciate the large number of private investors who have significant investments in MTL and who have been with the company through thick and thin over the past few years, retaining faith when others abandoned ship. We expect to be treated fairly, with an outcome that reflects fair value relative to MTL’s assets.
Yours faithfull
Thanks Gav. Did you use the investor relations email on the company website? I intend to use that and follow up with phone call(s) until I at least receive confirmation of receipt. Important we put a stake in the ground on this, but let’s not get too distracted from the long game here, which is a company in the sweet spot for a genuine transformation.
Lee’s synopsis around the rationale for a suspicious activity report is from my perspective correct. If the MMs, the major shareholders, their executing brokers or the company itself are reading this site, knowing we are aware of 1) the possibility of potential attempts at underhand, illegal manipulative tactics and 2) our rights and obligations to address such tactics via a regulatory notification, then it might make any mischievous actors think twice. The FCA is particularly focused on actions that negatively impact PIs, especially where larger firms are complicit. Has anyone raised this issue directly with the company/their investor relations team? I think that would also be an effective measure, making the company aware that we might take this step, which they would very much want to avoid. The best defence (if one is even needed - there may be no bad intent at all!) here is to hold onto shares and/or increase holdings, to sustain the PI base. Phenomenal upside with this share, for all the reasons outlined on this BB.
Roy, for your share count - my Dad and I have just over 8m shares between us (I am just over 6 of that). I work as a Chief Compliance Officer in a large global private equity fund and am tempted to submit a Suspicious Transaction Report (“STOR”) to the FCA given the recent trade patterns. If I feel the price is being held down/otherwise manipulated for someone’s strategic objective, such as to facilitate the acquisition of shares for a low ball offer, I’ll do just that.
Piotrmanczak - please, if you are going to deramp, at least do it intelligently, with some data or some sort of argument! Your attempts in the thread below are appalling. All up for open debate here, but naked attempts to drive down the SP are frankly just tiresome and insult the intelligence and integrity of posters on this BB. "Are we in the dark"..."who is scared?" Shall we add: "Where's my Mummy?" to the list. YAWN.
Hi All, just to add to Roy's aggregate PI share count, my Dad and I together have just under 8m between us. Feels like patience is paying off here. All very exciting in anticipation of newsflow. This feels seriously de-risked now, yet not priced into SP yet.
Worst case = Candy takeover offer at a premium to the daily escalating share price (which for reasons already stated by other posters feels remote);
Best case = we are entering next stage in baby AAZ style journey, in which I am also a large shareholder. What's not to like???
Let the good times roll!
I was also at the AGM. I validate everything the other attendees have said. I latched onto 2 things DB said:
1) On the question raised around turning the mine over to the Philippine govt - DB said "no one wants that outcome". My observation was that he said this unequivocally and almost instinctively. I also took this to mean the collective "we", as in the lenders, the company and the shareholders. While this is my personal interpretation, his body language was (for me at least) clear.
2) In response to questions on DB's personal and professional outlook for MTL, he said he believes there is a solution to make it work, but the decision is out of his hands. So he didn't look like a beaten man to me, but is positive that there is a route to success here.
I left feeling much better than I arrived as a result of 1) & 2), along with all the other accurate observations of the other posters.
It was also good to see DB in the flesh. I have been to three junior AIM miner AGMs in the last week and I can confirm DB presented very professionally, knowledgeably and with conviction in terms of having a coherent plan.
The BIOX circuit is still challenging though - Q2 outage will look similar to Q1 so they haven't got it working consistently yet, which remains a source of frustration for DB & team. They apparently know what's wrong with it and have options, with different costings, to fix it.
We also talked about the exploration potential across various other identified mineralisation sites within the mine complex, when funds permit, reminding us that the LOM could very easily be extended.
The SP article was very unfortunate. TW appears to have taken the Debtwire article at face value and with his own personal unique editorial style, presented a doomsday scenario. Layers of rumour upon rumour then arrive in these BB boards and spread panic. Debtwire has a reputation for being gossipy, then with TW's subjective overlay, the share price took a knock.
So hang in there everyone. Thanks to all the posters here for the information, the encouragement to see the long term potential (without being rampy). Best of luck!