This talk is not a typical SMEDG talk as it contains no geology but rather deals with company formation, farm-ins and subsequently a leverage buy-out (LBO) which netted a US private equity group a substantial tax-free profit over a short period of time with minimal outlay of its own funds.The presentation details why Arimco was an ideal target for an LBO by tracing the company’s history from inception in mid 1980s and covers a series of farm-ins, corporate re-structures and capital raisings. This resulted in Arimco, pre-LBO, being a mid-tier gold and copper producer with a large portfolio of Australian exploration projects as well as some off-shore interests. Another attractive feature for the acquirer was that control of the company was available from one majority shareholding
PRESENTER’S BACKGROUNDPeter Goldner (BSc [Hon], FAusIMM CP, FAIG, MAIMVA) has over 45 years broad mineral industry experience throughout Australia, Melanesia, numerous Asian countries and in Alaska. Peter’s experience covers a wide variety of mineralisation styles in diverse geological terrains in a variety of geographical and political environments. He has had considerable experience in the evaluation and valuation of projects ranging from early stage exploration through to production and has been involved in the negotiation of a large and varied range of joint venture and project acquisition/divestment agreements.Peter was a senior executive with Arimco/Australian Resources, the subject of this presentation.