This article is a month old.OM boss counts on Bogolyubov...

This article is a month old.

OM boss counts on Bogolyubov backing
October 23, 2009

OM Holdings chief executive Peter Toth says he remains hopeful activist shareholder Ukrainian billionaire Gennadiy Bogolyubov can be convinced to back a $294 million deal with former BHP Billiton boss Brian Gilbertson.

Speaking after handing down a solid quarterly result for OMH, which had record production from its flagship manganese mine in the Northern Territory, Mr Toth said he "absolutely" hoped to win the support of the Bogolyubov-controlled Consolidated Minerals.

He also confirmed the miner had an eye on future acquisitions in the manganese and the wider carbon steel materials area.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, which is expected to be put to shareholders later this year, OMH would take a stake in a South African manganese project in return for handing a group of investors, including Mr Gilbertson's Pallinghurst Resources, a slice in the company.

Mr Bogolyubov has criticised the proposed deal publicly, arguing it could effectively surrender company control and dilute shareholder stakes, including his own 12 per cent shareholding. Sources close to ConsMin said the group was also concerned about the lack of detail available on the transaction.

However, Mr Toth said he believed shareholders would find the deal "compelling".

"We have been talking to them (ConsMin) and they've expressed the same issues to us directly that they've talked about in the newspapers," Mr Toth said.

"They have every right to do so, they are a big shareholder and we respect their opinion. But at the same time we're not able to disclose the details of the transaction to any of our shareholders until we've completed the due diligence process."

OMH hopes to complete due diligence on the proposed deal by next month, call a shareholder meeting mid-December and have the entire transaction bedded down by the end of the year.

Mr Toth said OMH was also looking at acquisitions. "We want to grow in manganese and become a very prominent manganese producer and we also have ambitions to go beyond that and be a carbon steel raw materials company," he said.

OMH shares slipped 5¢ to $1.85.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/wa/6377684/om-boss-counts-on-bogolyubov-backing/