Zitat:" Nautilus bid reaffirmed by Bailey but doubts remain
by Mike Foley — created Jan 10, 2013 01:22 PM
Private Canadian investor Michael Bailey responded to speculation that his sensational announcement of a hostile takeover bid for subsea explorer Nautilus Mineral was a hoax. However, significant questions remain. Mike Foley reports.
Nautilus bid reaffirmed by Bailey but doubts remain
Drilling at the Solwara 1 project.
Bailey, speaking to AJM today, says his offer is genuine. The deal stands and is backed by “offshore funds”. He said “I am just waiting to hear back from [Nautilus’ chief executive and chairman] Michael Johnston.”
However, Nautilus says it is yet to receive an official offer. Two law firms cited as Bailey’s legal representatives in the bidding process have either denied or refused to confirm their involvement.
Undeterred, Bailey reiterated and bolstered his takeover bid in a fresh statement to the Marketwatch.com website today, claiming he has engaged Nautilus’ former chief scientific advisor, Robbert Gooden [sic], as interim chairman.
Robert Goodden, chairman of UK consultancy Subsea Minerals, has a technical advisory role in Nautilus Minerals and consults for several other marine mining companies.
Bailey told the AJM Goodden brings experience in developing subsea mining equipment, which will be vital in getting Nautilus’ stalled Solwara 1 project in PNG off the ground.
Bailey’s first press release drew suspicion by citing a law firm that contradicted Bailey’s claim it was involved in his takeover bid.
Canadian law firm Fasken Martineau denied to the Australian Financial Review that it was a representative for the bid.
However, Bailey’s latest release nominates Vancouver-based Bacchus Law as his new advisor. The firm, citing commercial ethics, would neither confirm nor deny its involvement at the time of writing.
The family office controlled solely by Michael Bailey is offering $0.97 CAD per share in Nautilus for an aggregate purchase price of $237.99 million CAD. Nautilus’ share price is currently $0.58CAD.
Gannibal Securities, a small Canadian financial firm, has been engaged to act as Bailey’s advisor. In fact, Bailey himself answers the phones at Gannibal’s offices
Nautilus’ major shareholders include Metalloinvest (21.0%), Anglo American(11.1%), MB Resources(16.9%) and Teck Resources(4.5%). Bailey is understood to hold a stake of less than 10%.
Bailey told the AJM he is confident in his plans to kickstart the beleaguered Solwara 1 project, which has stalled on a lack of funding. Nautilus claims that the PNG Government, which holds a 30% stake in the company, has failed to deliver its funding obligations, totalling $51.5m. The Government disputes the claim and is yet to deliver funding.
Bailey said he can kick start commissioning in the near future, should his takeover bid be successful.
We have the financing for this ready to get [commissioning] going. Nautilus has $90m in cash, but is deciding to sit on it for reasons that are unknown to me.
“My goal for the PNG government is to offer some royalty for what they have done so far and require no further investment from them.” "ENDE ZITAT
Quelle:www.theajmonline.com.au/mining_news/news/...-but-doubts-remain