Malaysian gold strike

Nik Ibrahim is LionGold senior manager authority as well as organisation CEO.

A Malaysian-backed, SGX-listed bullion miner hits RM2.5bil marketplace cap

KUALA LUMPUR: Recently, an essay in theSydney Morning Heraldhighlighted a maverick moves of a US-based account manager, Andres Weiss, of making a murdering by merely following a assertive acquisitions of bullion mining companies by a single Singapore Exchange (SGX) listed association calledLionGold Corp Ltd.

Since last October, Weiss Asset Management has paid for in to LionGold takeover targetsSignature Metals LtdandCastlemaine Gold Ltd, both listed upon a Australian batch sell (ASX) in classic arbitrage plays, a paper reported.

(Arbitrage plays refer to situations where investors take positions in aim companies in takeovers, betting which a announced understanding will come to fruition, thereby gaining from a tiny reward of a takeover cost contra a marketplace price.)

What done which essay even some-more interesting is which LionGold was described as a Malaysian-backed company.

Checks with LionGold revealed which a senior manager authority as well as organisation CEO isTan Sri Nik Ibrahim Kamil, who is famous for his reign during a helm ofKFC Holdings Bhdfor a duration of around two years from 2006 as well as also as a former handling director of a NSTP group.

Golden opportunity:An aerial perspective of Castlemaine's Ballarat bullion mine, a single of LionGold's acquired assets.

The alternative Malaysian component of LionGold is which a single largest shareholder, with a 10% stake, is SGX-listedAsiasons Capital Group Ltd, a private equity account founded by MalaysiansDatuk Jared Lim,Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashimand chartered accountant Ng Teck Wah back in 2007.

LionGold's growth story is an considerable one. It right away boasts a marketplace capitalisation of around S$ 1bil (RM2.5bil) as well as is touted by a little as being among a fastest growing bullion mining companies in a world. It has also attracted a likes ofNomura Holdings Inc,Macquarie Bank Ltdand a Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Exchange Trade Fund (ETF) to emerge as substantial shareholders. (The ETF belongs to New York-based assetmanager Van Eck Globalwhich had launched a ETF in 2009 aimed during giving investors there exposure to tiny as well as mid-cap bullion mining companies.)

Through a assertive M&A strategy, LionGold right away has carry out over 3 producing bullion mines as well as a couple of some-more mines which have been tighten to a prolongation stage. In an talk withStarBiz, Nik Ibrahim pronounced which LionGold "is in contact with prolongation figures of scarcely 6,000 ounces (of gold) per month, as well as growing."

He added: "We carry out without delay or indirectly scarcely 15 million ounces of JORC agreeable bullion resources."

(JORC is a determined code for a stating of scrutiny results, rebuilt by a Joint Ore Reserves Committee or JORC of Australia.)

LionGold's modus operandi, it seems, it to take advantage of cash-strapped, tiny as well as mid-sized listed bullion miners, which have been trade during a fraction of their true value, in markets such ! as ASX.< /div>

"We saw this misconception in a market. While a cost of bullion was high, a equity prices of a number of bullion mining companies were falling," he said, adding which LionGold afterwards did a tighten investigate of such companies, most of which had outlayed millions in scrutiny as well as training as well as which already had proven JORC agreeable resources as well as reserves.

But due to a fall out from a Lehman's crisis as well as a subsequent bearish markets in a Western world, these companies finished up cash-strapped as investors shunned them as well as finished up trade during a fraction of their net worth.

Asiasons' Lim added: "We positioned LionGold in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Asiasons directed LionGold in to an "aggregator" as well as "accelerator" model as well as leveraged upon our corporate finance expertise to identify undervalued mines, with significant potential, to acquire. We have financial strength to provide a necessary collateral to a mines, an attractive as well as glass platform to be means to attract shareholders to swap shares with LionGold as well as a operational astuteness to be means to accelerate a prolongation of a acquired mines."

LionGold's modus operandi in most of a brand brand new M&As has been to take a placement of brand brand new shares from a aim company, thereby ensuring a fresh injection of collateral in to these companies.

After being satisfied with a worth of these companies, LionGold would afterwards proceed to have an offer to buy out a rest of a shareholders in a aim company, profitable them mostly in LionGold shares.

Lim:'We positioned LionGold in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

"Our pitch was which you have! been a "consolidater" of youth miners as well as you have a plant to speak up capital, brand brand new government as well as technologies in to a aim companies. Just as important, is a fact which a SGX-listed LionGold is rarely glass batch as well as a share cost has been appreciating. The ASX-listed targets though, were just a opposite. So a appeal to investors (of aim companies) is immense," pronounced Nik Ibrahim.

This model had been used to take 76% in Signature Metals (which in spin owns a 70% interest in a Konogo Gold project in Ghana) as well as 98% of Castlemaine (that owns a state-of-the-art Ballarat Mine in Central Victoria, Australia).

LionGold has also taken a 10% interest in ASX-listedCitigold Corp, which has 11 million ounces of JORC agreeable bullion resources as well as a cave in Queensland, Australia, is touted as Australia's "highest class bullion field".

Through alternative M&As involving ASX-listed entities, LionGold has secured carry out over bullion mines in Tasmania as well as Bolivia as well as not long ago started a process to take 60% of a Papua New Guinea operations of another ASX-listed bullion miner.

No consternation afterwards which LionGold has been getting some-more media courtesy in Australia than Malaysia or even Singapore. The Aussies as well as account managers similar to Weiss have been likely to be watching LionGold even closer now. Nik Ibrahim pronounced LionGold was still in a acquisitive phase. "But a time will come soon when LionGold's M&As will slow down in sequence to focus upon rationalising a resources we've already consumed," he said.

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