Tuesday, July 17 2012 21:28
Russian analysts obviously overestimate Sberbank Capital company's transaction on purchase of shares of Paramount Gold Mining
ArmInfo. Russian analysts have obviously overestimated Sberbank Capital company's transaction on the purchase of the shares of Paramount Gold Mining by determining its value at 40-45 mln USD, an expert in the sphere of ore mining industry in Armenia, who wished to remain anonymous, told ArmInfo. He said that the Russian investment analysts are not so well aware of the peculiarities of the Armenian market and do not understand the whole truth of such purchase schemes. He pointed out that there are certain moments, which allow saying that the transaction was most likely of a purely financial nature, and its amount was overestimated at least threefold.
To recall, it was announced on July 12 that the Russian "Sberbank Capital" Ltd (subsidiary of OJSC "Sberbank of Russia") purchased 49% of the shares of the company owning the Lusajur gold project in Kotayk region of Armenia. The license for development of the Lusajur deposit belongs to CJSC "Paramount Gold Mining" registered in Armenia. The owner of the shares was an Armenian businessman Tigran Arzakantsyan, who sold 49% of the shares to the Russian investor.
According to ArmInfo's source, the value of such transactions is mostly influenced by the level of gold content in the ore and by the prime cost of the mine development, which is quite high given the closed-type of the development. The source says that the information about the estimated 18.5 tons gold reserves in the deposit approved by the Soviet documents cannot be complete. These are only estimated reserves, which cannot be a base for determining the fair price of the package of shares.
Such transactions on the purchase of companies having licenses for prospecting operations in the ore- mining sphere of Armenia are a "gold vein" for those possessing them. The provision of licenses was intensively carried out in the mid 2000s and today it brings surplus profit to the license holders. According to unspecified data, only the ex-MP Tigran Arzakantsyan, who, to all appearances, is the sole owner of the company only formally, has concluded at least two similar transactions with the Russian companies "Alrosa" and "Neva-Rus" over the past few years. At that time the matter concerned 10-15 mln USD.
The source considers that the fact that the portfolio investors have purchased a 49% package, which fails to give full control over the company, may mean that the transaction on the search of investors is not completed and will obviously have its continuation. As "Sberbank Capital" is only a portfolio investor, it is not ruled out that within the next few years the package of shares of Paramount Gold Mining will be resold to a field-specific investor.
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