The proposed Shell/PetroChina $3.5 billion bid for Arrow Energy has been cleared by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The ACCC gave the all clear yesterday after a month long review of the proposed deal.
“Taking into account the significant competing gas suppliers and abundant gas reserves that would remain post- acquisition, the ACCC considered that the proposed acquisition was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any relevant market,” the Australian regulator said on its Web site.
Shell and PetroChina still have to get the greenlight from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
That can take up to three months, with extensions.
The two are offering $4.70 a share in cash for Arrow plus shares in a new company, Dart Energy, which will hold the explorer’s gas assets overseas and Arrow’s stakes in Australian-listed companies.
Arrow shares ended at $5.17, up 6c on the day. That values Dart at 47c a share.
CBH Resources’ major shareholder, Japan-based Toho Zinc Co, has rejected the latest revised takeover proposal for CBH from Belgium metal processor, Nyrstar.
Toho has told CBH Resources in a letter yesterday that it "remains a committed CBH shareholder".
But said in its letter to CBH that the revised Nyrstar proposal was "highly conditional" as well as "incomplete, non-binding and is not an offer".
"It is highly uncertain that any proposal will be made either at all or on a timely basis, because of the pre-conditions to any firm proposal," Toho said.
Toho said the Nyrstar bid undervalued CBH shares.
Toho itself has bid for all the shares in CBH that it doesn’t already own at 25 cents per share. Toho currently holds 24.1% of CBH.
Toho called on the CBH board to proceed with a shareholder meeting planned for April 28 to consider its bid, but said it would not be bound to the bid if CBH cancelled or postponed the meeting.
"Subject to the customary reservations… Toho Zinc does not presently intend to accept any offer by Nyrstar for Toho’s CBH shares or notes if made on the terms and conditions set out in the Nyrstar proposal," Toho said.
Nyrstar made its revised offer for CBH after the market closed last Friday, April 9.
The new bid offers 19.5 cents per CBH share and $1,000 per CBH convertible note.
CBH shares closed at 19 cents yesterday.
Toho has around 24% of CBH shares and is the largest holder of the convertible notes.
It has previously indicated it would vote against any Nyrstar proposal if it was put to shareholders.
Toho has a competing deal for CBH shareholders to consider involving shares and a cash injection.
New Hope Corporation has added a cash component to its bid for Macarthur Coal.
Under the new offer, Macarthur shareholders can elect to receive either 2.7 New Hope shares for each Macarthur share held or $14.50 cash for every share held in the target.
But the total amount of cash available under this alternative has been capped at $950 million, so it is not a full cash alternative.
The $14.50 per share cash alternative puts a value on Macarthur of $3.68 billion.
Based on New Hope’s closing share price on Wednesday, the scrip bid values Macarthur at $3.53 billion.
New Hope shares lost 15 cents to $5.15. Macarthur’s shares fell 44 cents to $15.50.
