Interesting announcement I notice this morning from a newly formed entity called Vallar plc detailing the intention to raise £600m for the purposes of buying a major business or operational asset in the global metals, mining and resources sector, and float on the main market.
Target
The Company expects to focus principally on regions and commodities where it can leverage the extensive network and strong prior operating and investment experience of the Vallar Team within the sector. As such, the focus regions include the Americas, Russia, Eastern Europe and Australia, and potential commodities include base metals, coking coal, iron ore and thermal coal (and may also include gold, silver, uranium and associated co-products or by products). Other regions or commodities may also be considered where the Directors believe the opportunity presents an attractive investment. A prospective target for the Acquisition has not yet been identified.
Team
- Nat Rothschild
- David Campbell
- Sir Julian Horn-Smith - Chairman
- Lord Renwick
- Steven Shapiro
- Sir Grahame Hearn
- Robert Sinclair
The Directors, and investment and technical teams appear to have a wealth of resources experience, though the key question at this stage is whether they can raise £600m in this market with no prospective acquisition target yet. Arguably, the model is no different to that of Q Resources (LON:QRES) which has raised capital to buy a resources business, albeit on a much smaller scale and in Africa.
