Langer Heinrich sale still not finalised
Australian mining group Paladin Energy announced recently that it would proceed with the sale of its Langer Heinrich operation in Namibia.
A valuation process will now take place, which is expected to take between five and six weeks.
“Paladin [has] made the decision to allow the valuation process to move forward having consideration for the expected valuation range for the interest in Langer Heinrich mine, stakeholders' attitudes to a protracted and costly arbitration and the possibility that subject to further engagement and support of key stakeholders, it may be possible to propose an alternative solvent restructuring,” the company said.
Paladin's shares will remain in suspension pending the fulfilment of the restructuring process.
Efforts to offload Paladin's remaining stake in the local operation recently hit a snag following differences to a proposed restructuring arrangement between China National Nuclear Corporation and Paladin.
With the planned restructuring, Chinese involvement in the mine would have gone up to 75% but this appears to have hit a snag.
Paladin CEO Alexander Molyneux said of CNNC's actions almost a month ago: “CNNC's actions are disappointing given the support the restructure proposal has received to date, CNNC´s failure to proceed with the acquisition of an additional 24% stake in the Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM) when it was offered to them last year, and CNNC's repeated refusal to fund the working capital requirements of LHM.”
At the time, should the restructuring process have failed, at least 1 000 employees would have had been affected said Molyneux.
“As a result, CNNC, our joint venture partner, has put at risk the interests of Paladin´s stakeholders, including approximately 26 000 small shareholders, approximately 1 000 employees, international financial institutions and sovereign-related entities. Paladin intends to dispute CNNC's actions unless an acceptable compromise can be reached with CNNC.”
This forced Paladin to weigh its options, with its CEO quoted as saying: “In the absence of the Langer Heinrich stake sale, I'm very happy that our bondholders are supporting the company with a viable restructure that preserves long-term value for all stakeholders.”
Its spokesperson, Bernadette Bock, was of the opinion that the sale would not affect Langer Heinrich's operations, saying: “Although Paladin ultimately has little influence over China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC) decision-making, it would be in their best interest to retain the employees and in light of this, we do not foresee major disruptions to the current staff complement on site. Notwithstanding this, Paladin is currently pursuing various options, including disputing the validity of CNNC's claim, in order to preserve its assets and valued employees.”
OGONE TLHAGE
A valuation process will now take place, which is expected to take between five and six weeks.
“Paladin [has] made the decision to allow the valuation process to move forward having consideration for the expected valuation range for the interest in Langer Heinrich mine, stakeholders' attitudes to a protracted and costly arbitration and the possibility that subject to further engagement and support of key stakeholders, it may be possible to propose an alternative solvent restructuring,” the company said.
Paladin's shares will remain in suspension pending the fulfilment of the restructuring process.
Efforts to offload Paladin's remaining stake in the local operation recently hit a snag following differences to a proposed restructuring arrangement between China National Nuclear Corporation and Paladin.
With the planned restructuring, Chinese involvement in the mine would have gone up to 75% but this appears to have hit a snag.
Paladin CEO Alexander Molyneux said of CNNC's actions almost a month ago: “CNNC's actions are disappointing given the support the restructure proposal has received to date, CNNC´s failure to proceed with the acquisition of an additional 24% stake in the Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM) when it was offered to them last year, and CNNC's repeated refusal to fund the working capital requirements of LHM.”
At the time, should the restructuring process have failed, at least 1 000 employees would have had been affected said Molyneux.
“As a result, CNNC, our joint venture partner, has put at risk the interests of Paladin´s stakeholders, including approximately 26 000 small shareholders, approximately 1 000 employees, international financial institutions and sovereign-related entities. Paladin intends to dispute CNNC's actions unless an acceptable compromise can be reached with CNNC.”
This forced Paladin to weigh its options, with its CEO quoted as saying: “In the absence of the Langer Heinrich stake sale, I'm very happy that our bondholders are supporting the company with a viable restructure that preserves long-term value for all stakeholders.”
Its spokesperson, Bernadette Bock, was of the opinion that the sale would not affect Langer Heinrich's operations, saying: “Although Paladin ultimately has little influence over China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC) decision-making, it would be in their best interest to retain the employees and in light of this, we do not foresee major disruptions to the current staff complement on site. Notwithstanding this, Paladin is currently pursuing various options, including disputing the validity of CNNC's claim, in order to preserve its assets and valued employees.”
OGONE TLHAGE
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