Consmin Delay Irks Weary Gilbertson

The Age

Thursday July 19, 2007

Jamie Freed

AT A meeting to approve BHP's merger with Billiton six years ago, Brian Gilbertson was famously deemed the "faceless man" by an outraged investor.

The slur may have been justified, given the architect of the biggest mining deal in history didn't even bother to show up.

Six years on, with a bid for Perth miner Consolidated Minerals, Mr Gilbertson was eager to prove that he'd changed.

So understandably, the legendary mining boss wasn't in one of his better moods when he landed in Perth yesterday afternoon jetlagged and tired, only to be told his long journey from London was unnecessary.

While he was in the air, ConsMin received court approval to delay a scheme meeting originally scheduled for today. The company's board wanted time to consider a rival offer from Territory Resources, a junior iron ore miner led by former ConsMin chief Michael Kiernan.

At the rescheduled August 16 meeting, ConsMin shareholders will decide whether to accept a partial takeover offer from Mr Gilbertson's Pallinghurst Resources.

In the meantime, the man one former associate deemed a "grandstander" is threatening to withdraw his offer altogether.

"I came across for the scheme meeting only to find there was no scheme meeting," Mr Gilbertson said. "I made it clear that I did not wish it to be postponed."

He said Territory's rival offer, which includes a higher cash component than the Pallinghurst bid, was "clearly inferior".

He noted his advisers had told him it was one of the most conditional offers they had ever seen. (It contains 17 conditions.)

Mr Gilbertson's frustration was all the more palpable because Pallinghurst has spent months amassing projects for a revitalised ConsMin under its control. It has signed a memorandum of understanding on an African manganese project, and Pallinghurst director Arne Frandsen said it had also secured chromite and coal deals.

Pressed for details, Mr Gilbertson said he had "no intention whatsoever about telling anyone about those now". He added Pallinghurst was promised a $5 million break fee if the ConsMin board recommended a rival offer.

As for Mr Gilbertson, he was trying to make the best of his trip: "Right now I'm going to go out to a restaurant and have a nice glass of red wine."