Is it just me, or isn't Cliffs a tad small to be the Freewest's saviour on this deal?
Looks like they have about $350M in cash. Their debt to asset ratio appears to be approx 1:1 which I would think is fairly aggressive for a company of their size and in these uncertain times.
They'd probably need to spend over $100M in cash or dilute their shares on a share offering to make a significant impact against the NOT offer. Then would Cliffs be left holding the bag to do all the work getting this area to be mineable? In a foreign country (Canada), with no ties to any of our culture or government? Find another $1B for infrastructure? If I'm the CEO of Cliffs, this sounds like one major headache I don't need. Let the juniors do their dirty work and fail or succeed as they may. We'll be back when the permits are in place, thank you very much.
Worst case for Cliffs, their 7% of FWR is now worth 50% more on the market. Not bad.
IMO, there is no place for majors here. This is dirty work dealing with Shareholders Rights Plans, Shareholders, Legal Actions, Natives, Roads, Infrastructure etc.
I think Mac has no other offer - it's a bluff and all he is concerned about is getting his $4M paycheque. I would expect nothing less and nor should anyone else. He's rallying his troops with this 'blind offer' to fend off the NOT offer in order to squeeze as much as he can. It might even be working.
I do not understand why Wes is letting the SP plummet. I would guess it's because the assay results he has been counting on have been delayed beyond his control (like at the AGM), or it's some sort of psychological warfare, or perhaps a calculated yet unknown reason we haven't heard discussed on our forum here.
I also don't understand why FWR's SP remains so high. I am looking forward to learning a valuable lesson - does the market know all? I think we'll all find out in the coming weeks.
Look for Mac to support the offer and change his tune about NOT if he gets his $4M. Frankly, I think that is the only thing holding this deal back and is what NOT will negotiate with.
Brattymack
