a la gradecontroller,lest we forget10 Jul 2016 23:21
Last Monday
Let me introduce a contrarian spin on this,,,,, Would MNG want to take AUE private ? My gut says no,,,, a LON and TSX listing although probably a new experience for them, could have considerable longer term benefits and I highlight what Nordgold (LSE - NORD) did when the gold assets of Severstal were floated in London. 80% plus of NORD shares are held by one Russian investor and whilst he is profiting from the journey, like last year their dividend exceeded the share price (£2.80 odd at the time), he will eventually look for an exit and AUE could just be the embryo vehicle. The other 20% shareholders also benefited from the big dividend and if I remember correctly, NORD also bought back a considerable tranch of stock. AUE are obviously not in that league, but gaining control of a LON / TSX company for £35m is a great deal and they will be looking at a bigger picture than simply skinning the AUE minority, particularly since gold is heading for the sunlit uplands (good phrase Gecko) They are more likely to be considering how they could, in the future, put their other private entities into AUE with minimal benefit to the AUE minorities. They maybe buying in the market now to get their holding up to near the maxium of 90% to avoid having to take out minorities and retain a PLC status. 80% might sound a better number and less of a threat to minorities. They have indeed been a white knight. Gecko's comments on share price ranges of up to 10p and in another scenario up to 20p sound attainable when they get going, but It is very frustrating watching the peergroup move upward with AUE stuck in their tailings dam.
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