RE:RE:RE:More
Yes CG - They do have 2 billion shares outstanding but remember that Tinto owns over 1 billion of them and so that leaves something under 1 billion shares to be bought. I suspect that Tinto has done some preliminary work in figuring out what the institutional holders will accept and that is perhaps why they are looking for a minority partner. Between the government risks of doing business in Mongolia and the pricing signals that they are getting from the institutions, something tells me Tinto would have to swallow hard if they tried going it alone. The OT deposit is a 100 year plus mine of some of the most valuable ore on this planet and not all of it has yet been discovered. The institutions know this and will want to be fairly paid. Also TRQ is a Canadian company and under Canadian law, if the minority (institutions) disagrees with the price it gets sent for an independent evaluation.
One of the reasons that do not get mentioned for Tinto wanting to take TRQ private has to do with accounting. They can't take full advantage accounting wise with only 51% owner ship. This is not so much a big deal in these early stages with the current open pit operations spitting out peanuts compared to what the full operation will do but does become a big deal later on.
I would not be surprised to see the likes of BHP team up with Tinto on this one. Both are big Iron Ore producers looking to diversify and both need world class projects and both have the credit rating to get the cash. A Chinese entity may not be too palatable to Mongolia and gives Donks ammunition.
Until know, Tinto has had the minority over a bag as Tinto was in total control. Now that Tinto wants to move, the playing field got considerably more even for us. :-) JMO
When it comes, first offer will be low but in the ball park, 2nd offer will be better and if the institutions push for independent evaluation, 3rd offer will be better yet - north of $10 US is where we will settle - again - JMO based on being through a few of these over the years.