Sirius insider ‘discussed takeover in hotel bar’
SIRIuS Minerals has launched an internal investigation after a senior worker was allegedly heard discussing the controversial takeover by Anglo American with a hotel barmaid before it was publicly announced.
Local resident and Sirius shareholder Andrew Green ( pictured) claims that on January 7 – the day before Sirius told the stock market about the takeover of the struggling potash mine in yorkshire – he heard an employee loudly talking about a deal with Anglo American that was going to be revealed ‘as soon as tomorrow’.
Green’s allegations come as the mining company fields criticism for a spike in its share price on January 7 – the same day he overheard the brazen pub conversation.
A source close to the deal confirmed that the announcement was rushed out on January
8 in a bid to avoid getting on the wrong side of regulators.
Green, 46, said he had been taking his dog for a walk along the beach in Robin Hood’s Bay – a fishing village south of Whitby in the North york Moors National park, close to Sirius’s Woodsmith Mine – when he stopped at the Bay Hotel bar. He claims he heard the senior employee, who he says works at the mine, talking about a potential takeover, and was shocked the next morning to see it had been announced.
The Mail has seen evidence that Green contacted the company several days later to report the allegations.
Sirius confirmed to the Mail it has opened an investigation into a member of staff after receiving a complaint from a member of the public.
Anglo American made a formal offer on Monday to buy Sirius for £405m at 5.5p per share, a price that will leave many locals who backed the potash project out of pocket.
Sirius is thought to have around 85,000 retail shareholders, many of whom live in the area. According to estimates from december 2018, they held around 50pc of its total stock.
Green, who is an offshore oil worker, owns 250,000 shares in Sirius and stands to lose £20,000 if the takeover goes through.
He told the Mail: ‘I’ve had sleepless nights thinking about whether I should’ve reported this or taken it further. Locals have been left behind. I know people who stand to lose everything, people who have had to remortgage and put their pensions into it.’ Anglo will need to get 75pc approval from shareholders for the takeover to go through – but it faces the possibility that they could fight back en masse and derail the deal. A Sirius spokesman said last night: ‘We are in receipt of an allegation from a member of the public and we are currently investigating. The company takes confidentiality and the management of sensitive information very seriously.’