Krusty - suspect you're right.When you think about it ...a) If...

Krusty - suspect you're right.

When you think about it ...
a) If it is a straight land sale - $200+m? in TXN's hands gets taxed in the US (approx 35% - unless its rolled over into a new venture within 180days from memory), then a % retained by the company and some returned to the shareholders

b)A purchaser can either pay $200+m? for the EFS acerages or the current market cap + a % premium and get the cash + EFS + Wilcox + MR Olmos +++. I would have thought any director of another company would get grilled by their shareholders for at least not trying to get more for less.

c) While Dave Mason still has a few years up his sleeves, John & Clifford Foss aren't spring chickens any more. John has gone after a big wedge of 70c options (6 million) + Cliff has gone even bigger (7 million)

d)I follow the top50 reasonably closely and almost none of them have decreased .. in fact quite a few have increased their holdings

e)Recently TXN released drilling "updates" which they have almost never done before - in what looked like an effort to support the price

f) The dataroom was shut late April and bids were due early May.

g) there has been no announcement saying the sale was unsuccessful which they'd have to do under the ASX listing rules covering continuous disclosure.

Combine these points with the fact that RBS were listed as joint managers of the sale along with Albrecht & Assoc. then to me that screams a corporate transaction.

If we've read it right I imagine they'd love to release something before the AGM but last week's global turmoil has probably slowed things down a bit.

To my mind we're deep in the final stages of this play & the potential purchasers are rubbing their hands together while the SP errodes on miniscule volumes. (note: the AUT bid for EKA was at a 36.4% premium to the last traded price).


Oh .... and I think we're still in preopen....