In today’s briefing:
- Latin Resources (LRS AU): 16th January Merger Vote
- Greatview Aseptic Packaging (468.HK) – Newjf Already Has an Upper Hand
- Latin Resources (LRS AU): Pilbara Minerals (PLS AU)’s Scheme Vote on 16 January
- [US Crude Oil Options Weekly 2024/48] WTI Drops on Easing Supply Concerns
- IO Weekly Technicals Review [2024/48]: Bullish Trend to Persist
- [US Nat Gas Options Weekly 2024/48] Henry Hub’s Uptrend Continues on Bullish Demand Outlook
- [Earnings Review] Occidental Beats Q3 Estimates on Robust Output
- LVG: Imwelo Project Receives Forward Purchase Agreement
- New Zealand Energy Corp. (TSX-V: NZ): Better than expected results at Tariki-5A
- TM: Kombat Mine to Be Acquired in All-Cash Transaction
Latin Resources (LRS AU): 16th January Merger Vote
- Back on the 15th August, lithium play Latin Resources (LRS AU) entered into a Scheme with Pilbara Minerals (PLS AU). PLS offered 0.07 new PLS shares for every LRS share.
- The Scheme Booklet was slightly delayed to reflect Pilbara’s recently adjusted FY25 guidance – nothing deal/project related.
- The Scheme Booklet is now out, with a Scheme Meeting to be held on the 16th Jan. Expected implementation on the 4th Feb. The IE (BDO) says fair & reasonable.
Greatview Aseptic Packaging (468.HK) – Newjf Already Has an Upper Hand
- Newjf’s Yuan Xunjun and Guo Xiaohong are both lawyers. They should be more familiar with the Pre-Condition requirements. Newjf has obtained SAMR clearance and we think Newjf will fulfill Pre-Conditions.
- Bi Hua and Hong Gang’s “new initiative” based on Nov.28 announcement may not necessarily succeed, since Newjf has a lot of room for rebuttal here and its Offer is attractive.
- Greatview’s chairman and Cloudview are in discussions with financial advisers to make a counterbid.Considering that this may be a “noise”,we recommend prioritizing Newjf’s Offer before any higher Offer from Greatview.
Latin Resources (LRS AU): Pilbara Minerals (PLS AU)’s Scheme Vote on 16 January
- On 29 November, the Latin Resources (LRS AU) IE considered Pilbara Minerals (PLS AU)’s all-scrip offer fair and reasonable. The offer is 0.07 PLS share per LRS share.
- The key conditions are LRS shareholder and Brazilian regulatory approvals. No disinterested shareholder holds the 25% blocking stake, and low retail ownership lowers the headcount test risk.
- An attractive offer and the lack of a competing bidder suggest a done deal. At the last close, for the 4 February payment, the gross/annualised spread was 2.9%/18.8%.
[US Crude Oil Options Weekly 2024/48] WTI Drops on Easing Supply Concerns
- WTI futures dropped 4.6% for the week ending 29/Nov, driven by easing Middle East tensions and higher US gasoline and distillate inventories.
- WTI options Put/Call volume ratio fell to 0.82 from 0.87 (22/Nov) last week, as call volume fell by 17.9% WoW and put volume dropped by 22.4%.
- WTI OI PCR inched up to 0.88 from 0.86 compared to last week. Call OI rose by 1.3% WoW, while put OI increased by 4.5%.
IO Weekly Technicals Review [2024/48]: Bullish Trend to Persist
- SGX IO Futures closed USD 4.17/ton higher for the week ending on 29/Nov. It traded in a range of USD 5.05/ton, which was smaller than the prior week.
- Chinese portside inventories fell 1.5% to 148.5M tons for the week ending 29/Nov. China’s manufacturing PMI for November came in at 50.3, beating analyst expectations of 50.2.
- Seasonally strong demand ahead of the Lunar New Year, improving steelmaker conditions, stimulus hopes, and robust PMI signal continued iron ore price gains.
[US Nat Gas Options Weekly 2024/48] Henry Hub’s Uptrend Continues on Bullish Demand Outlook
- US natural gas prices rose 7.5% for the week ending 29/Nov, driven by forecasts of colder weather, rising US LNG exports, and higher heating demand.
- Henry Hub Put/Call volume ratio rose to 1.47 from 1.14 (22/Nov) the previous week as put volumes fell by 56.1% WoW, while call volumes decreased by 66%.
- Henry Hub OI PCR fell to 0.83 from 0.84 compared to last week. Call OI fell by 14.4% WoW, while put OI decreased by 15.8%.
[Earnings Review] Occidental Beats Q3 Estimates on Robust Output
- Occidental’s Q3 revenue edged up by 0.2% YoY and beat estimates by 0.7%. Net profit fell by 16.6% YoY, but EPS beat estimates by 34.8%.
- Total production increased 15.7% YoY, driven by strong growth in the Permian and Rockies, while US production surged 19% YoY, achieving its highest-ever quarterly output.
- Long-Term debt reduced to USD 25.46 billion, down USD 4 billion, reaching nearly 90% of the company’s near-term debt reduction target of USD 4.5 billion.
LVG: Imwelo Project Receives Forward Purchase Agreement
- LVG announced a term sheet including a forward purchase agreement of 7,000oz of gold plus an offtake agreement.
- With permits secured last month, today’s announcement derisks the project development from a financing perspective.
- The second tranche of the financing involving Taifa Group is expected to close within the next few weeks and will provide additional funding (~$3.8M) to LVG, further derisking it from a capital standpoint.
New Zealand Energy Corp. (TSX-V: NZ): Better than expected results at Tariki-5A
- The Tariki-5A well has encountered a gas column of at least 8 metres out of a gross Tariki sand of ~60 m.
- An additional column of a further 8 to 12 m may be confirmed upon completion of log analyses.
- This is above company expectations.
TM: Kombat Mine to Be Acquired in All-Cash Transaction
- TM received a term sheet for the purchase of its ownership of the Kombat Mine for a consideration in the range of US$30-50M.
- The all-cash transaction is at the asset level, therefore removing a significant portion of TM’s debt, allowing them to realize the entire consideration.
- Trigon also announced its Q2/25 operating and financial results, reporting weaker than expected financials compared to Q1, returning to a negative EBITDA position.
💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
Sign Up for Free
The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network
- ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
- ✓ Personalised Alerts
- ✓ Custom Watchlists
- ✓ Company Data and News
- ✓ Events & Webinars
