I agree - dividends or M&A ....thats what excess net earnings have to be used for to pay shareholders for the risk of holding an asset.
NST worked it out almost a decade ago, and has done both splendidly .... I too am amused by the 'spec buyer' mentality that thinks the SP will go up up and up if only the company keeps on expanding the asset and not paying dividends like every other share ..... gold bugs magic pie. The SP builds up before the dividend is paid, and the decline immediately ex-dividend doesn't make dividends meaningless !
At this time, the only way for SLR to be able to achieve and sustain a good SP is for SLR to become investment grade which means a much bigger production at margins that will be sustainable long term, even if the gold price regresses ... it will be able to pay dividends.
It's now or never. So, this merger (DRM shareholders insist in the delusion that its a low ball takeover) is vital to both DRM & SLR .... with it they achieve critical mass, have no low grade assets (SLR shed Murchison and DRM has shed Andy Wells) and are primed with a large cash reserves to drive the development of their prime assets and possibly continue growing by M&A as other companies floundering in a credit squeeze have a TINA moment ..... this should mean that after the first merger is bedded down a SP re-rate will occur, especially if the POG remains steady .... buy the rumour, sell the fact, sell in boom, buy in gloom .... I don't expect to hold SLR (or any gold miner) long term .... that is always a mistake. BUT for now the cash pile is what makes SLR very attractive for M&A ... and don't forget its tax losses of $430m .... which means that for the likes of NST, SLR would be a self funding acquisition.
