"a co like apa does not make offers without good advice so i think we can kiss epx goodbye"
andybee, I'm not at all sure this TO is past the post already.
DYOR but I prefer to wait until the Independent Expert Report is released and then assess the offer.
Mind you APA companies appear now, from todays ann', to hold a blocking stake of just over 10% and today there were 2.8 million sh. traded on ASX alone and more on CHI X again I expect so a rival bid would only initially be seeking a 50% plus controlling stake in EPX I guess.
Still, 90%+ is needed for a TO proponent to move to compulsory acquisition and that means we three HC poster's shares here amount to at least half of a blocking stake to APA's bid so why not wait at least until the Independent Report is released.
Regarding your comments about the offer price "shouldn't the 1.07c ... making it $1.93", I'm slightly confused by that as the bid is only 188c cash and I figure the quarterly distribution was always coming my way regardless of the new confirmed ex date, the 15th March, compared to the now defunct previous ex div. date [late March] as I never intended to accept before that late March ex div. date anyway.
So to my mind the supposed sweetener of the quarterly 3.25c div. distribution is a furphy because we get that every 3 months as you know and we're fully entitled to it and the 77.1% franking credit attached.
So a 193c bid, to my mind, would need to just that, 193c cash!
If my memory serves me correctly EPX was trading at around 188c about 2 years ago anyway so where is the 33% TO bid premium above that and while we may have in future some ongoing maintenance due [which I believe we have funds put aside for] the cost of a new pipeline is mentioned at $2.5 billion in that article I posted above and our, EPX, only asset is valued at $130 million!
I'm not certain but I expect there must be maintenance cost savings for APA if they do in future own both of the existing dual parallel pipelines in the one trans-NSW dual pipeline easement instead of their current status of only one APA owned pipeline?
EPX Price at posting:
$1.92 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
