Ann: Trading Halt, page-2

I know that TBR are in a trading halt to address the speculation within this article here, thought I'd insert the text of the article in here for those NST or TBR holders who haven't read it.

Although its speculative that TBR would consider a counter offer for NST's share of the EKJV, everything else in the article is pretty much uncontroversial and a good summary of the state of play so far....


Enigmatic gold producers Tribune Resources and Rand Mining may consider making a counter-offer for Northern Star Resources’ stake in their East Kundana joint venture when they formally reject Northern Star’s $150 million offer for their interests.

Tribune and Rand, which have been at the centre of a probe by the Takeovers Panel into their ownership structures, are believed to be close to officially knocking back what they see as a grossly inadequate offer from Northern Star.

Northern Star, which owns a 51 per cent stake in East Kundana, went public with their $150m offer for Tribune and Rand’s combined 49 per cent stake in the mine late last month after the Takeovers Panel ordered a sweeping overhaul of the duo’s ownership arrangements and disclosures.
Tribune and Rand share the same office and are both run by secretive Kalgoorlie product Anton Billis. The Takeovers Panel ordered Rand to sell shares it owned in Tribune, as well as ordering a host of major shareholders linked to Mr Billis to provide corrective substantial shareholder notices. The two miners both announced special dividends amid the probe, sending tens of millions of dollars to their shareholders.

With the Takeovers Panel orders representing the biggest shake-up of the infamously opaque Tribune and Rand, Northern Star pounced with its buyout proposal.
In a statement that revealed the growing tensions between Northern Star and its East Kundana partners, Northern Star used its announcement of the buyout offer to highlight the governance issues inside Tribune and Rand.

“As a shareholder in both Tribune Resources and Rand Mining, Northern Star shares the concerns of other Tribune and Rand shareholders arising out of the Takeovers Panel declaration of unacceptable circumstances in connection with past and ongoing breaches of the Corporations Act with respect to nondisclosure of controlling shareholdings in Tribune and Rand,” Northern Star said.
The offer is likely to have been seen within Rand and Tribune as a low-ball bid aimed at taking advantage of the upheaval within the duo.

With East Kundana continuing to spit out cash for the three owners, Tribune and Rand are likely to be weighing up their own counter-bid for Northern Star’s share in the mine. Such a situation could trigger an auction process between the two warring camps, ensuring that one of the sides eventually exits.
Northern Star has grown into Australia’s second-largest gold miner in recent through a series of cannily timed acquisitions, most recently snaring a bargain with Pogo gold mine in Alaska.