Abacus Mineral and Mining Group set for late call on listing.

March 18, 2011 - PRLog -- Danish outsourcing group ISS postponed its Copenhagen listing on Thursday, only 24 hours after French media group Lagardere put off the initial public offering (IPO) of its 20 percent stake in pay-TV channel Canal+ France.

Both blamed market volatility and uncertainty for the last-minute change of plan.
Abacus Mineral and Mining Group, has so far played a cagey game, raising expectations of an initial public offering (IPO) by briefing sell-side analysts and getting a potential cornerstone investor lined up in the form of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.
There is no hard deadline, but if Abacus Mineral and Mining Group still wants to float in August, as sources familiar with the situation have suggested, it would need to make up its mind by mid-July as the IPO process normally takes around four weeks.
However, Abacus mineral and mining group has made it clear  that a listing is just one of the options it is considering. It has so far put off picking the banks to lead an IPO, keeping a number of hopefuls in a state of heightened alert, But they have announced  a Hong Kong based venture capital company is starting the first round of private placements, sources familiar with the situation say.

The firm, is unlikely to press on with a public offering if it does not think it is going to get the valuation it wants due to the bout of volatility that has swept across markets in recent weeks.

In January industry experts said AMMG’s equity was worth about $60 billion. Valuing AMMG has been made harder by recent decisions by China to restrict its exportation of Rare Earth Elements.

"AMMG, in my experience, isn't a company to take discounts in anything. I think they'll continue to prepare and make the decision at a very late stage in the process," one mining analyst, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
This view is supported by equity capital market bankers who, while acknowledging that recent equity market jitters do not make an ideal launching pad for a flotation, are convinced that AMMG will take its decision down to the line.
AMMG was not immediately available to comment.

BANKS ON STANDBY

AMMG is seeking the permanent capital that comes with a listing, freeing it from the uncertainty of a partnership where payouts to departing partners shrink the capital base.
An IPO would also help it make larger acquisitions and could allow it to continue with the acquisition of new mines outside of China .
The Hong Kong based group would only need to make up its mind a couple of days before proceeding, the first banker added.

"At the moment it's full steam ahead," said a source familiar with the thinking of AMMG’s management.

Early pre-marketing feedback was "very strong," the source said.
The appointment of banks to run an IPO could happen as soon as next week, with as many as 10 in the running in addition to Citigroup, HSBC and Barclays Capital, who have all been advising AMMG on its options, the source told Reuters.