EXTRACT ONLY just noticed this new article Flinders Mines shares...

EXTRACT ONLY

just noticed this new article

Flinders Mines shares spike on Takeover Panel ruling on share buyback as delisting battle rolls on

PAUL GARVEY
RESOURCES REPORTER

Flinders Mines and its cornerstone investor will be forced to pay up as part of the Takeovers Panel-ordered changes to its controversial delisting plans.

The Takeovers Panel on Thursday ordered that Flinders’ share buyback of up to 10 per cent of the company ahead of the delisting would have to be carried out at a fixed price of 7.5 cents per share, well above the less than 4c a share it was shaping to pay before the panel’s intervention.

The move sparked an immediate 30.6 per cent spike in Flinders (FMS) shares to 4.7c each.

But the fight against the plan by Flinders’ minority shareholders is not over, with attention turning to whether the delisting will be approved by ordinary or special resolution.

But the move has drawn strong opposition from Flinders’ 4000-plus mostly mum-and-dad investors, as well as Flinders’ second-largest shareholder, OCJ Investment.

The Takeovers Panel said it had accepted an undertaking from Flinders and Todd for the pre-delisting buyback to take place at 7.5c a share. The pair had previously proposed paying the lower of 7.5c or a 5 per cent premium to its five-day average, which would have likely seen the company pay last than 4c a share.
The revised plan is still subject to approval from the Australian Stock Exchange.

Minority shareholders are now likely to lobby the ASX to require the delisting to be subject to a special resolution, which would require 75 per cent of shares to vote in favour of the plan. The ASX had previously approved the earlier plan to go to shareholders as an ordinary resolution, which meant Todd’s stake alone would have been enough to determine the outcome.

Opponents of the move have argued that the delisting plan will help Todd increase its hold over Flinders and its Pilbara iron ore project, which could form a key part of its proposed Balla Balla rail and port infrastructure development.