Rand forced to sell $60m Tribune stake

The Takeovers Panel has ordered the sale of a $60.1 million stake in gold miner Tribune Resources, along with updated disclosure from some of the company’s major shareholders.

The panel has requested that gold producer Rand Mining, which is closely linked to Tribune, vest 12 million shares to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to sell.

The panel has also ordered managing director Anthony Billis, his wife Phanatchakorn Wichaikul, and several other entities to provide corrective substantial holder disclosure.

Other relevant parties include Sierra Gold, Trans Global Capital, Nimby WA, Lake Grace Exploration and Northwest Capital.

The relevant parties have also had voting restrictions placed on them along with provisions related to the creep exception.

The ruling comes after the panel declared unacceptable circumstances last month.

Tribune and Rand are closely linked to one another, sharing the same board of directors, the same major shareholders and even their South Perth headquarters.

They are also the largest substantial shareholders in each other, with Rand owning 26.3 per cent of Tribune and Tribune owning 44.1 per cent in Rand.

The two companies own a combined 49 per cent stake in the EKJV (with Northern Star Resources owning 51 per cent), which owns the Kundana gold operation north-east of Coolgardie.

The two companies each announced special dividends worth a combined $250 million.