Daily Brief Australia: Warrego Energy, Medlab Clinical and more

• Warrego Energy (WGO AU)’s offers from Hancock and Strike Energy (STX AU) close on 31 January and 13 February, respectively. As time passes, the chance of a further bump is slim.
• Mineral Resources (MIN AU) is the kingmaker. A MinRes/Strike pairing results in a combined min of 49.83% to a max of 73.93% of outstanding shares (if Hancock retains its stake).
• A MinRes/Hancock pairing results in a combined min of 45.21% to a max of 69.32% of outstanding shares (if Strike retains its stake). This is the likely scenario.

As Medlab Clinical moves into 2023, the expected commencement of a Phase III trial for NanaBis (the company’s cannabinoid based analgesic therapy) in cancer-induced bone pain will be the focus for investors. Management made considerable progress towards Phase III in 2022, by switching to a purely synthetic cannabinoid formulation and gathering encouraging real-world data on NanaBis use. We believe these actions should maximise the potential for NanaBis in both a regulatory and a commercial setting. We note that successful progression of the company’s programmes will be contingent on Medlab’s ability to raise capital, given the short cash runway (funded into March 2023) and recent setback with the Nasdaq listing plans. We update our estimates to reflect the financing risk and macro uncertainty, resulting in our valuation decreasing to A$183.5m or A$80.4/share, from A$236.1m or A$103.5/share.