Don't let the directors off the hook. It was a chit deal for CHN...

Don't let the directors off the hook. It was a chit deal for CHN shareholders and the directors know it. They should've had the balls to front up to the shareholders and say something along the lines of... "we are disappointed with this deal, but really the Eritrean dictators had us over a barrel". There was a clause in the original agreement that the payment from the Eritrean govt for their 30% stake, in the absence of a common agreement, that an independent company would be called to work out the payment based on the NPV of the project. Did the directors pursue this avenue?

I had a talk with the CEO a few weeks back and said "Considering the company has placed shares to Patterson at 30c, this sends the message that the company's shares are worth 30c. Do you think the company's shares are worth only 30c?"

"Hell NO!" was the response, "they couldn't wait any longer to conduct a capital raise through Patterson, it's all we could get from the current market". If the directors, and judging by previous presentations, value the company a lot more than 30c... then that's what they should have aimed from the Eritreans, and since they couldn't get anywhere near fair value, then they should NOT issue an announcement saying they are pleased.