Cooling on uranium
JAPAN’S nuclear crisis has prompted Russia’s state-owned Rosatom Corporation to slash its planned takeover of uranium miner Mantra Resources by more than 12 per cent, casting doubt on how other uranium takeovers will be valued. Rosatom’s ARMZ Uranium Holding Company last week withdrew its $8-a-share offer, following a cooling in investor appetite for uranium stocks as a result of the Fukushima crisis. Yesterday, ARMZ made a new offer at $7.02-a-share. Mantra shares soared more than 26 per cent, to $6.68 as investors decided the revised deal, which values the company at $1.02 billion, was better than nothing.”The directors of Mantra have agreed unanimously to recommend ARMZ’s revised offer and will vote in favour of the scheme in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to receipt of an updated recommendation from the independent expert that the revised transaction is in the best interests of Mantra shareholders,” the company said.
The nuclear uncertainty has caused the share price of Perth-based Extract Resources to drop from as high as $10.73 before the Japanese earthquake to a low of $6.04.
Extract, which is developing the Husab uranium project in Namibia, the world’s fifth-largest known primary uranium deposit, recovered more lost ground yesterday, closing up 10¢ at $8.11.
Investors had jumped into the stock on rumours that China’s CGNPC Uranium Resources was coming with a $1.2 billion deal for Kalahari Minerals, which owns a 43 per cent stake in Extract. CGNPC and Kalahari had reached an implementation agreement, but the Chinese group has not yet announced a firm bid.
Investors feared in the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami that the deal might not be as appealing now for CGNPC as billions of dollars were wiped off the value of uranium stocks and as ARMZ briefly walked away from Mantra.
Australian Uranium Council chairman Mark Chalmers said the revised ARMZ offer could be a sign of things to come.
”I think it might be a trend for those who made offers before the Japan crisis and have the opportunity to break them,” he said.
Political and business lobbyist Greg Rudd said China’s long-term, planned approach to government meant the recent nuclear crisis in Japan would have little bearing on China’s plans to build more nuclear reactors. But Chinese state-owned enterprises would now be on the lookout for cheap uranium deals following the large reductions in value suffered by many uranium stocks.
Mathew Murphy and Peter Ker
March 23, 2011
The nuclear uncertainty has caused the share price of Perth-based Extract Resources to drop from as high as $10.73 before the Japanese earthquake to a low of $6.04.
Extract, which is developing the Husab uranium project in Namibia, the world’s fifth-largest known primary uranium deposit, recovered more lost ground yesterday, closing up 10¢ at $8.11.
Investors had jumped into the stock on rumours that China’s CGNPC Uranium Resources was coming with a $1.2 billion deal for Kalahari Minerals, which owns a 43 per cent stake in Extract. CGNPC and Kalahari had reached an implementation agreement, but the Chinese group has not yet announced a firm bid.
Investors feared in the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami that the deal might not be as appealing now for CGNPC as billions of dollars were wiped off the value of uranium stocks and as ARMZ briefly walked away from Mantra.
Australian Uranium Council chairman Mark Chalmers said the revised ARMZ offer could be a sign of things to come.
”I think it might be a trend for those who made offers before the Japan crisis and have the opportunity to break them,” he said.
Political and business lobbyist Greg Rudd said China’s long-term, planned approach to government meant the recent nuclear crisis in Japan would have little bearing on China’s plans to build more nuclear reactors. But Chinese state-owned enterprises would now be on the lookout for cheap uranium deals following the large reductions in value suffered by many uranium stocks.
Mathew Murphy and Peter Ker
March 23, 2011
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