ASX top gainers: GrainCorp, Sundance Resources, Conto Resources Monday, October 22, 2012 by Proactive Investors Australian stocks were sold off heavily in the first 20 minutes of trade following the lead from heavy losses on the US markets overnight last Friday. The All Ords did bounce off its lows during the course of its day to erase some gains and only closed down 0.63% to 4,564.6.
Despite the generally subdued mood displayed by the Australian market, a number of companies fought against the tide to make gains.
Unsurprisingly, GrainCorp (ASX: GNC) was one of the biggest gainers today, putting on A$3.45, or 39%, to close at A$12.30 on news that it had received an indicative, non-binding proposal from Archer Daniel Midlands (NYSE: ADM) for A$11.75 per share in cash.
The offer is a 33% premium to GrainCorp's last traded price before the trading halt was granted last Friday. The offer values the company at around A$2.65 billion.
Archer Daniel Midlands produces food ingredients, animal feeds and feed ingredients, biofuels and other products to manufacturers around the world and has a market capitalisation of over US$19 billion.
Sundance Resources (ASX: SDL) also found favour from investors, who sent it up 2.94% to A$0.35 on the back of its securing two Financier Commitment Letters.
These confirmed that the proposed A$1.38 billion buyout from Hanlong (Africa) Mining Investments will go ahead. Conto Resources (ASX: CNO) put on A$0.055, or 61%, to A$0.145 after signing a binding heads of agreement to acquire all of the issued capital of Dateline Resources, which owns the Nukudamu Polymetallic Project in Fiji, in stages.
Nukudamu already contains an Inferred Resource of 4.5 million tonnes at 1.2% copper, 3.9% zinc, 29 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 0.3g/t gold.
The resource area was previously mined in the 1960s with total production of 32,435 tonnes at 5.9% copper and 6.7% zinc from the Udu Copper Mine reported. The broader market had slipped after Wall Street tumbled on Friday amid disappointing earnings reports.
The All Ords was down 28.9 points, or 0.63% to 4,564.6, while the S&P/ASX 200 shed 30.1 points
|