IN terms of shareholder gains, Polaris Metals stakeholders will be content with how the past 12 months unfolded.
Shareholder winners
IN terms of shareholder gains, Polaris Metals stakeholders will be content with how the past 12 months unfolded.
Justin Mannolini of Gresham Investment House advised Polaris as a four-month, two-way takeover battle ensued. Stock in the company, that counts its Yilgarn iron ore project in the state’s south-west as its flagship asset, is now valued at double what it was before the battle, won by mining services company Mineral Resources.
“In raw takeover premium terms it was a good outcome,” one investment adviser told WA Business News.
MinRes took control of Polaris in mid-December, beating rival bidder Lion Asia of Singapore.
If Polaris shareholders are happy, then MinRes investors are ecstatic.
MinRes shares, which traded at $2 one year ago, are now hovering at around the $7 mark, in a period where the aggressive company picked up a handful of strategic assets.
Along with the Polaris acquisition, MinRes has led the move to revive the stalled Windimurra Vanadium project 600 kilometres north east of Perth, after striking a deal with receivers and managers (advised by Macquarie).
“That asset has the potential to be a rocket. I think we’ll look back and say look at the return they get out of that,” one investment adviser told WA Business News.
The success of MinRes in 2009 is cause for celebration, which may account for its founder setting a national record by spending $57.5 million to buy a home (see story, page 17).
The mining services company is undertaking a major capital raising to fund its aggressive growth strategy, which includes a partial sell-down by management to boost its free float and qualify for the ASX200 index.
Membership of the index brings substantial benefits, including having an increased company profile and generating institutional support from fund managers investing in the country’s 200 biggest companies.
Mount Pleasant-based education provider Navitas continued to buck the market trend during the past year by regularly announcing new partnerships and enjoying a substantial share price rise.
