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For the second time in a week a trading halt has been placed on the shares of dual-listed uranium prospector Summit Resources.
The New Zealand stock exchange announced the latest halt, made at Summit's request, shortly before the market opened at 10am today.
The halt was pending a material announcement by the company, and would remain in place until the announcement, or until the start of trading on Wednesday, NZX said.
The previous halt on Summit securities was last Tuesday, with trading restarting the next day following the announcement of a strategic alliance with French nuclear company Areva.
Areva, the world's top builder of nuclear reactors, agreed to pay A$292.6 million ($333.8 million) for up to 18 per cent of Summit, which would make it Summit's largest shareholder. Half of the stake was priced at A$6.20 with an option for another 9 per cent at A$7.20 per share.
In response, Paladin Resources raised its hostile bid for Summit by around 20 per cent, valuing it at A$1.18 billion.
Paladin upped its takeover offer to one Paladin share for every 1.67 Summit shares, valuing Summit at A$5.99 a share for its listed shares, based on a Paladin share price of A$10.
Paladin already digs for uranium in Namibia and soon will bring a second mine on stream in Malawi but lacks an operation in Australia, believed to hold some of the world's largest untapped uranium deposits.
Summit had rejected Australia-based Paladin's initial February offer, which valued Summit at around A$1 billion, as inadequate and the bid struggled to find support. It has advised its shareholders not to take action while it reviews Paladin's sweetened offer.
Shares in Summit last traded on the New Zealand stock exchange on Friday at $6.77, having hit a high of $7 on Thursday, from a low for the year of $1.01 last June.
- NZPA
