The fund manager David Paradice seems to prefer coal companies in his share portfolio rather than his backyard. Paradice was among the residents of several towns in the upper Hunter Valley in a celebratory mood after the Premier, Kristina Keneally, on Friday rejected a planned expansion by the Bickham coalmine in the area well-known for producing top thoroughbreds.
"It's quite a big thing up here in Scone," Paradice, who grew up in the area, said. Paradice, who still manages to split his time between his rural property and his Sydney offices, also appears to dig in on matters of principle.
"I've got other places around Scone. I could have easily gone somewhere else," Paradice said, explaining how his attitude to the planned mine expansion was similar to how he managed his fund. "If it's not the right thing to do, than don't do it."
The keen horseman downplayed his involvement in the protests, however, although he reportedly helped bankroll the well-funded local campaign against the mine expansion. "I am just a small cog in the overall community machine," he said.
The Paradice family's horsemanship skills will be on display at the Dungog Film Festival on May 28,
at the Australian premiere of a documentary starring Paradice's son, Angus.
A Little Bit Mongolian follows Angus's road in becoming the first foreigner to compete in Mongolia's Naadam festival cross-country horse race. The documentary picked up an award for the best film on mountain culture at last year's Banff Film Festival in Canada.
The Australian Geographic Society also awarded Angus its 2009 Young Adventurer of the Year gong for his Mongolian feat.
THUMBS DOWN
After already being exposed as a communist by the mining magnate and Liberal Party donor Clive Palmer, the Prime Minister, Kevin "Hugo" Rudd, is under attack from his own comrades in relation to his resource super profits tax.
The Communist Party of Australia is distancing itself from the Rudd government over the issue. "The [tax] will not choke off profits in the resource sector, send mining companies to the wall or force them to move their operations elsewhere," howls the front page of the Communist Party's newspaper The Guardian: The Workers Weekly.
"In fact, the new tax regime reduces the mining corporations' exposure to risk and boosts guarantees of nice, fat super profits," it says.
The commies reckon the move away from royalties based on volumes to super profits is not a good idea.
"The federal government has no intention of driving the current batch of transnationals out of Australia in order to attract a less greedy batch.
"A serious attempt to wrest control of the resources of the country for the benefit of the Australian people and protection of the environment will not be carried out by governments like Kevin Rudd's or the Coalition 'alternative'," it laments.
BACK ON SCENE
Diamond Joe Gutnick's former chief geologist and long-time sidekick, Ed Eshuys, has resurfaced in the public sphere, more than a year since relinquishing his post as the managing director of the goldminer St Barbara.
The junior explorer Drummond Gold on Friday announced its plans for a highly dilutive capital raising, that would see Eshuys pumping in capital and being made a director.
Drummond - market cap $5 million - did not disclose how much of the $3.5 million raising would come from Eshuys. The Australian Financial Review reported in December that Eshuys was suing St Barbara for $850,000 in unpaid remuneration. The 65-year-old claimed he was paid only $150,000 of a $1 million completion payment he was entitled to.
VALUATIONS GAP
The directors of Wallace Absolute Return will have the interesting task of defending their valuation of one of its key assets this morning.
Wallace has declined a $1.5 million offer for the debt and equity it has in the computer reseller Hal Data, from the reseller itself. While the original investment was worth $41 million, Wallace now values it at nil.
An independent expert last year valued the interest at $18 million. This might be the first time a company has warded off a bid for an asset it values at zilch but which an independent expert values at six times the entire market capitalisation of the company that owns it.
Meanwhile, at today's Wallace shareholder meeting there will be a vote on whether to dump the managing director, Michael Birch, and another director. Shareholders are being called on by a 13 per cent shareholder, Pressmore, to install the NSW Liberal Party's head fund-raiser, Paul Nicolaou, and the head of the investment firm Sandon Capital, Gabriel Radzyminski, as directors.
Wallace has urged shareholders to reject the vote and instead install two other directors.
THE OTHER HALF
It was, at first glance, a tale of dastardly directorship deeds. Just before Dr Alistair Reed left the Melbourne-based explorer-turned-miner Pluton Resources last month, he attracted the attention of amateur share-price sleuths when he disclosed he had offloaded a million shares and whittled his stake to just below 600,000 shares.
But keen-eyed readers pointed out his stake shown in the annual report was about 3.2 million shares.
Now, on our maths 3.2 million less 1 million comes in at much more than 600,000. So what, we were asked, became of the missing shares?
Hot on the trail of a rogue director not filing his paperwork and leaving investors in the dark, CBD put a call in to Pluton's company secretary, Andrew Metcalfe.
As it turns out, annual reports need to disclose shares held by close associates - in Reed's case, his wife, Janet Fitton, holding 1.6 million.
But Reed's director notices need only list the shares he controls - up until recently, also 1.6 million.
That comes to 3.2 million and
no shares missing; just half held by his wife.
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Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Who is David Paradice and what role did he play in the Bickham coalmine dispute?
David Paradice is a fund manager who grew up in Scone and splits his time between his rural property and Sydney offices. Although the article notes he seems to prefer coal companies in his portfolio, Paradice publicly opposed the planned expansion of the Bickham coalmine near the upper Hunter Valley, reportedly helped bankroll the local campaign against the expansion, and described his stance as a matter of principle: “If it's not the right thing to do, then don't do it.”
What decision did Premier Kristina Keneally make about the Bickham coalmine expansion and how did locals react?
Premier Kristina Keneally rejected the planned expansion of the Bickham coalmine. Residents of several towns in the upper Hunter Valley, including Scone, were reported to be in a celebratory mood following the decision.
How might a fund manager’s local activism, like Paradice’s opposition to a mine, influence everyday investors?
The article presents Paradice’s opposition as an example of a fund manager taking a principle-based approach to decisions. For everyday investors, this can signal that a manager may weigh community, environmental and reputational factors alongside financial returns—information investors may consider when evaluating a fund manager’s stewardship and investment philosophy.
What did Drummond Gold announce about a capital raising and what is Ed Eshuys’s involvement?
Junior explorer Drummond Gold announced a highly dilutive capital raising of $3.5 million. The company said Ed Eshuys would be pumping capital into the raising and be made a director, but Drummond (market capitalisation reported as $5 million) did not disclose how much of the $3.5 million would come from Eshuys.
What legal dispute involving Ed Eshuys and St Barbara is reported in the article?
The article reports that Ed Eshuys was said to be suing goldminer St Barbara for $850,000 in unpaid remuneration. Eshuys claimed he was paid only $150,000 of a $1 million completion payment to which he said he was entitled.
What is the valuation dispute between Wallace Absolute Return and the independent expert over Hal Data?
Wallace Absolute Return has declined a $1.5 million offer from Hal Data for the debt and equity it holds in the computer reseller. Wallace now values that interest at nil, despite an independent expert valuing it at $18 million and the original investment being reported as worth $41 million—creating a large gap between Wallace’s internal valuation and outside assessment.
What corporate control issues are being decided at the Wallace shareholder meeting?
At the meeting shareholders will vote on whether to remove managing director Michael Birch and another director. A 13% shareholder, Pressmore, is pushing to install Paul Nicolaou (the NSW Liberal Party’s head fund-raiser) and Gabriel Radzyminski (head of Sandon Capital) as directors. Wallace has urged shareholders to reject that move and instead install two other directors.
What caused the apparent discrepancy in Pluton Resources’ reported shareholdings for director Dr Alistair Reed?
A discrepancy arose when Dr Alistair Reed disclosed selling 1 million shares and said his stake fell to just under 600,000, while the annual report showed about 3.2 million shares associated with him. The company secretary explained the difference: annual reports disclose shares held by close associates (in this case Reed’s wife, Janet Fitton, held 1.6 million) while director notices list only the shares the director controls. Combined holdings account for the 3.2 million—so there were no missing shares, just different reporting categories.
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