Takeovers Panel to take another look at Rio Tinto, Packer & Co bout over $880 million uranium raising

[Pelican Press 0]

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Takeovers Panel to take another look at Rio Tinto, Packer & Co bout over $880 million uranium raising

Fund manager ****** Packer and Zentree Investments have landed a ***** against Rio Tinto as the Takeovers Panel decides it will step in on a rights issue dispute after initially declining to get involved.

Parties were notified on Friday by the panel regarding the pair’s bid to stop Rio pushing ahead with a $880 million rights issue with Energy Resources of Australia that would ultimately give the miner enough leverage for a full buyout.

The panel had initially elected to stay clear of the saga, but will now investigate further into the raising following an appeal to review launched by Packer and Zentree at the end of September.

ERA said the decision had created “uncertainty” for its planned capital raising.

“The independent board committee will advise of a revised entitlement offer timetable after the outcome of the review application is known,” the market was told on Monday.

The Takeovers Panel is expected to deliver a brief on Monday.

Cottesloe fund Packer & Co and Singapore’s Zentree are ********* investors in ERA, which is tasked with the rehabilitation of Rio’s Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory and also owns the lease to the untapped uranium ******** of Jabiluka.

ERA’s majority investor Rio does not want to develop the new ******** following opposition from the Mirarr Traditional Owners.

The Federal Government in July blocked the lease’s renewal — much to the dismay of Mr Packer who has invested substantially in ERA — on the same advice.

Rio is obligated to support the recent raising to ensure ERA can pay the $2.4 billion clean up bill to rehabilitate the Ranger site south of Jabiluka it had mined since the 1980s.

ERA has indicated Rio plans to buy out the whole company at $0.002 once the offer is completed and its stake in the company ticks over 90 per cent.

More to come.

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