This is a potential rip-off for CO1 shareholders. When the...

This is a potential rip-off for CO1 shareholders.

When the proposed merger was announced, First Cobalt on the TSX was 55 cents, and Cobalt One (1) on the ASX was 10 cents.

I know this because a Canadian friend bought First Cobalt immediately after the announcement at 56 cents and then emailed me.

If the merger goes ahead, First Cobalt will apply to have CDI shares listed on the ASX.

That is a CDI to FPO ratio at the time of the announcement of 5.5 CDI to 1 FPO. Do you think you will get that?

But hey, after the announcement and lots of publicity in Canada, what then did our supposed new Canadian "friends" do?

It appears as if they did not talk with our Cobalt One (1) directors in order for us to co-ordinate together a unified and fair and equitable trading halt, or trading strategy, for both companies.

Oh no, instead of that, they went ahead and let their company share price run-up on the TSX for 2 days, after their publicity splurge, thereby raising their price and negotiating leverage by 35%.

So, the Canadians were permitted to trade on news of the proposed merger for 2 whole days, while the Australians were not permitted even a minute !!!

This is totally unfair, and not how anyone would treat new "friends".

To be completely fair, when working out the CDI to FPO share ratio, it should be calculated on the share price of both companies at the time of the announcement, and not after our Canadian friends traded and promoted themselves for 2 additional days in order to gain another 35% advantage and leverage.

For First Cobalt to be trading on the TSX for 2 days after the announcement, when Cobalt One (1) was not permitted to trade on the ASX, is completely unjust, and possibly even grounds for the ASIC regulator to investigate should the settlement for Cobalt One (1) shareholders not be fair. You should let our company directors know this, in no uncertain terms !!!

Why weren't our new friends in Canada talking with us? Why did we not work out a fair and equitable trading strategy together across the two bourses? Why have the shareholders of Cobalt One (1) on the ASX been so disadvantaged (in terms of trading days), and what are our new friends on the TSX going to do about it, if anything?

These questions you should be strongly asking.

If the conversion ratio is anything more than 5.5 CDI to 1 FPO then CO1 shareholders have been completely ripped off, in a big way, and you should vote it down, and make your voices loudly heard until you are treated with some equality.

If they now say that the conversion ratio is around 7.5 CDI shares to 1 FPO, then over the 2 Canadian trading days you've lost 35% of your share value, just because one company went into a trading halt, and the other did not. That is not what I would call a partnership, and definitely not a friendship. I'd say it's sneaky and dishonest, because the Canadians have then forced the current true value of a CO1 share down to about 7.5 cents.

On Monday morning, watch very carefully for the CDI to FPO ratio that they set for the merger, and see how much you have (potentially) been ripped off. And then vote the merger down until you are treated with some respect and decency and honesty and equality, and until you get fair value for your shares.

Not a happy chappy here!

We feel (potentially) cheated by this opportunistic "friendly" bid, and by the behaviour for 2 days of the the Canadian company and directors - our new friends ??

And the last thing I want to hear now from our own directors is some spin as to why this is a good merger for us (after First Cobalt traded for 2 extra days and potentially diluted our influence and CDI share values by 35%).

Fully diluted we have about 670 million shares, and they have about 68 million.

Don't get me wrong though, the business case for the merger may indeed be good, I'm just saying that from a CO1 shareholder's perspective we need to get fair value, and the CDI to FPO ratio has to be fairly calculated on both company's share prices at the time of the announcement, not 2 Canadian trading days later, and a 38% Canadian stock price later !!!

Fairness dictates that CO1 shareholders should get 1 FPO share for every 5.5 CDIs that we hold (as a minimum).

We will go through this agreement (when released) with a fine tooth comb.

Monday awaits.

Gw