Sirius Minerals

Update #11, 5 Aug 2020 – Sirius Legal Judgment Published and Implications for Law Commission Review

The judgment of The Hon. Mr Justice Fancourt in the matter of Sirius Minerals plc Court Hearing of 13 March 2020 has now been published and makes reference to ShareSoc's submission, in several places, with paras 5 and 6 being the most important. 5. I have read letters from Mr Cliff Weight of the UK Individual Shareholders Society (ShareSoc). The concerns that he expresses are that the vote at the meeting that agreed to accept the offer of 5.5 pence per share ...

Shareholder Rights – Response from Kelly Tolhurst, BEIS Minister

There are continuing sign of progress on shareholder rights. The Law Commission Review is progressing and we have received the following letter from the Government. Corporate Responsibility Minister Kelly...

Sirius Update #9, 14 March 2020

The general disappointment and in many cases anger due to the crystallisation of losses for many investors remains. We reiterate the overall unfairness of the deal, but in the end, this was the only deal on the table. So, what next? The Court Hearing on 13th March approved the scheme and it will become effective on 16th March. After this comes the question of legal redress. Here, the process changes gear: time is no longer of the essence, and it is important to ...

Sirius Update #8, 6 March 2020

The Anglo offer to acquire Sirius has been approved by shareholders. There is general disappointment due to the crystalisation of losses for many investors but, as the Chairman said at the meeting, this was the only deal on the table. 57% of shares were not voted. Georgeson, voting advisers to Anglo, are experts: they knew this would occur and Anglo could win the vote with their miserly 5.5p offer. In my opinion, Anglo would have had to offer more if the nominee system had ...

Yorkshire Post, 26 February 2020, Sirius shareholders face a stark choice

The ShareSoc Sirius Shareholders Group (SSSG), which is supporting small investors in Sirius Minerals, said they now face a stark choice between accepting Anglo American’s “unpalatable” 5.5p per share offer or “the very high probability” of losing everything if they reject it.  See https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/sirius-shareholders-face-stark-choice-ros-snowdon-1996010

MoneyWeek 20 Feb 2020, Do you own shares in Sirius Minerals? Here’s what you need to do now

ShareSoc member Michael Taylor looks at the situation and the options for shareholders. See https://moneyweek.com/investments/stocks-and-shares/600863/sirius-minerals-anglo-american-takeover Paul de Gruchy, a director of ShareSoc (the lobby group for individual investors), which has been approached for help by hundreds of investors in Sirius, said that “while ShareSoc cannot recommend whether investors should accept the offer or not, we can help them to get the information they need to make an informed decision and to hold the board to account, in particular in understanding what alternatives ...

Sirius Update #4  5 Feb 2020

Over 700 Sirius shareholders have now joined the ShareSoc Sirius Shareholder Group (SSSG) and more are joining at a rapid rate. Please join ShareSoc and SSSG. The more members of SSSG we have, the more influential we will be. We have successfully lobbied Sirius and they agreed to meet. We have sent them a 5 page letter and they sent a detailed response. The Sirius meeting was with CEO Chris Fraser, Chairman Russell Schrimshaw and others, and happened on 4 Feb. A note ...

Brexit and Why Shareholder Votes Matter

Last night Brexit got done. We exited the EU after 47 years. But we will need to resume the conversation to secure a trade deal. That still leaves room...