We should know today or tomorrow if Shell and PetroChina have come up with a share price for their takeover bid that Arrow Energy will recommend to shareholders.
Arrow shares entered a trading halt on Friday, ahead of a statement promised by the company by tomorrow.
Arrow gave its reason for the trading halt as "pending release of an announcement to the market concerning an update to the non-binding indicative and conditional proposal received from a company jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina".
Media reports this morning suggest a higher price and other new sweeteners have been suggested by Shell, leading to Arrow’s acceptance of the new offer.
Arrow announced on March 8 that Shell and PetroChina had made a non-binding proposal to buy the company at $4.45 per share plus a share in a new company set up to hold Arrow’s international business.
Arrow previously had announced that it proposed to spin off its international business into a new, listed company.
Establishing a realistic value for the international assets will be hard, meaning some shareholders have wanted a higher cash price from Shell and PetroChina to make their offer more realistic.
Arrow shares closed on Thursday at $5.29.
Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) is confident that the world market for the metal remains strong and will see growth in 2010.
It sees stronger ore prices expected in the long term.
ERA, which produces about 10% of the world’s uranium, said in its 2009 annual report released on Friday that it expects demand for the commodity to grow significantly during the next decade."While market prices have stabilised well below the historic highs reached in 2007, current prices are still significantly higher than for most of ERA’s 30-year history, supporting investments to increase output.
"The requirements of the world’s existing 436 reactors and the construction of new reactors combine to increase demand," the company said.
"Much of this growth in demand will occur in ERA’s established markets.
"The supply/demand fundamentals point to the likelihood of stronger prices in the longer term.
"Although the economic crisis has temporarily slowed plans for additional nuclear plants in the United States and Europe, a number of new units are still expected to begin construction and come into operation toward the end of this decade.
"By 2030, according to the World Nuclear Association, the number of operating units worldwide will have risen from 436 to more than 600.
"China, in particular, leads the world with more than 20 units under construction and many more in the planning stage," ERA said in the report.
ERA, which is 68% owned by Rio Tinto, produces uranium at its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.
It said it was planning an "ambitious and exciting" program of significant investments in 2010 and 2011, with more work planned at Ranger.
"The Company expects to complete studies in 2010 regarding the world-class Ranger 3 Deeps mineral resource, adjacent to the current Ranger mine, including whether to develop an exploration decline to conduct close spaced underground exploration drilling to further evaluate the extent and continuity of the resource."
ERA’s investment in its development opportunities has continued during 2009, with expenditure of $30 million on exploration and evaluation during the year.
"In November 2009, the studies into the proposed heap leach facility at Ranger, for the extraction of 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of uranium oxide from low grade ores, moved to feasibility stage at an anticipated cost of $36 million.
"Resources at Ranger decreased by 7,216 tonnes to 108,152 tonnes of contained uranium oxide, primarily due to grade adjustments to the low grade in situ and stockpiled ores, as a result of updates to the resource model as well as due to the conversion of resources to reserves.
"Of the 108,152 tonnes of uranium oxide in confirmed resources at Ranger, around 34,000 tonnes is associated with the Ranger 3 Deeps mineral resource," ERA said.
