Auch in Kanada schüttelt man die Köpfe:
Forsys sale left hanging
'Even BCE wasn't this bad,' arbitrageur says
Peter Koven, Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2009
George Forrest
The misery and anticipation continue for Forsys Metals Corp.'s shareholders.
The long-awaited, $579-million takeover of Forsys by George Forrest International Afrique (GFI) was supposed to close early this week. But to the surprise of very few people, GFI said it needs more time to complete the "transfer of funds," and informed Forsys that it now expects the all-cash deal to close on or before Aug. 24.
It is the latest in a long line of delays, and investors playing the takeover were left shaking their heads. It is now nine months since GFI agreed to buy Forsys, and it is still not clear whether GFI has secured financing for the takeover, or where the financing is coming from.
"Even BCE wasn't this bad," said one arbitrageur, who asked not to be named.
"You can only laugh. No one knows what's going on. Forsys discloses what it knows, but I don't think it knows much more than we do."
GFI, controlled by Africa entrepreneur George Forrest, is shrouded in secrecy and has revealed few details on how it plans to complete the Forsys takeover, which would give it the Valencia uranium project in Namibia.
GFI has already reneged on an initial promise that the deal was not conditional on financing, and it then ran into problems trying to secure financing.
However, experts said yesterday that all signs suggest that GFI is committed to completing the deal at the promised price of $7.00 a share. If it had any intention of lowering or abandoning the offer, logic suggests that it would have done so by now.
But the fact that GFI is willing to pay such a high price for Forsys still surprises many investors. Namibia is a very mining-friendly country, and the Valencia project is fully permitted. However, it is also very low-grade, and sources said it is a marginal project at current uranium prices.
Rumours have flown around that everyone from mining company Areva to a Korean energy company to the Iranian government could be Mr. Forrest's source for financing.
Shares of Oakville, Ont.-based Forsys closed at $6.22 yesterday, a 12.5% discount to the $7.00 takeover price.
It reflects concerns that the deal could easily fall apart, and the fact that there is a big downside if it does.
pkoven@nationalpost.com--- |
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