Any Concerns about ThiamHere are some excerpt from the Helmer's article posted on this board previously. I don't see too many discussions on this board regarding Thiem's claim. Is anyone here concern about this?
Thiam told Minesite this week that he understands t6hat Crew’s operating subsidiary in the country, Societe Miniere de Dinguiraye (SMD), has been struggling with technical problems in its mine and milling operations. But he noted that there were serious problems with the way Crew had acquired the Guinean state’s 15% shareholding in SMD in 2006. The valuation of that transaction was too low, Thiam said, and Crew has not implemented the share transfer that was part of the deal. “The Guinean government position is that there was under-pricing of the deal, and there is a substantial bloc of shares still owed.”
Thiam confirms the understanding published at the time that Crew was obligated to pay a total of US$30 million in value, divided into two parts – $15 million in cash, and $15 million worth of Crew Gold shares. At the time of the announcement, Crew Gold’s shares were trading at about C$15. They climbed to a peak of around C$24 in 2006 and again in 2007. But they collapsed in the autumn of 2008, and today they are trading at just 20 cents. Thus, if the Guinean government had received its shares at the time of the SMD sale, they should have received 1 million shares. That bloc would be worth just $200,000 today. But the government and the company were unable to agree on a share price for the transfer, or on the number of shares to be paid to the government by Crew Gold.
According to a Crew Gold document, “the shares were placed in escrow pending agreed upon amendments to the Convention de Base being ratified by the Government of Guinea. The Corporation has extended the deadline for the GOG [Government of Guinea] to raftify the amended Convention de Base until September 30, 2008, after which time if the ratification has not occurred, the Shares may be cancelled and returned to treasury.”
This implies that Crew Gold has retained the shares, and unilaterally cancelled the second part of the deal. Thiam’s position is that the entire deal was faulty, and must be renegotiated.