Bentley bids $8m for Strike

An investment company chaired by Perth businessman Farooq Khan has made an off-market $8 million cash bid for full ownership of Strike Resources, and may seek opportunities for the business outside the resources sector.

Bentley Capital is offering Strike 5.5 cents in cash for every share in the business, which represents a 49 per cent premium to Strike’s last closing share price of 3.7 cents, and a 24 per cent premium to its 12-month volume weighted average price.

“The bid is made in circumstances where Strike has written down the carrying value of all of its mining assets to nil, with its only other assets comprising cash at call and on deposit,” Bentley said in a statement.

“The bid provides Strike shareholders with the opportunity to exit their investment for a certain cash value where there is otherwise relatively limited trading liquidity in Strike shares.”

Bentley currently has no shareholding in Strike; however Orion Equities, which holds a 27.4 per cent stake in Bentley, also holds 11.4 per cent of Strike’s shares.

Mr Khan, who chairs Bentley, is also on the board of Strike as a director, while Strike managing director William Johnson is also a non-executive director of Bentley.

Bentley said it noted that Strike had been reviewing alternatives for the future of the business since it sold its Peruvian assets last year.

The company said it would consider moving away from the resources sector.

“It is Bentley’s intention upon a successful close of the bid to restructure the board of Strike with a majority of representatives appointed by Bentley and for the newly constituted board to examine means by which to maximise the value of the existing assets of the company,” it said.

Strike responded in a statement saying it would review and consider the offer in detail.

“Strike’s independent directors advise shareholders to take no action in relation to the offer,” Strike said.

Strike has engaged PCF Capital Group as financial adviser and Clayton Utz as legal adviser.

Shares in Strike were 35.1 per cent higher to 5 cents a share, while Bentley shares were 3.7 per cent lower to 13 cents each at 11am.