Friday, March 4, 2011

Noble placement likely to fund M&A

Stock Name: Noble Grp
Company Name: NOBLE GROUP LIMITED
Research House: UBS

Noble (N21.SG) is down 2.3% at $2.13 after its private placement news. RBS, which has a Buy call and $3.00 target, says “we are unclear about the purpose of this fresh equity raising. One possibility is that Noble is eyeing a significant-size M&A transaction, and so this might be a pre-emptive capital raising to prevent its debt to equity ratio from spiking up and reducing its investment grade credit rating.” 

UBS, which has a Buy rating and $2.70 target, notes “Noble has lately indicated that it is looking at coal acquisitions in Mongolia. We highlight that Noble recently acquired stakes in two Mongolian firms and has a 4.1% stake in coal exploration firm Aspire Mining, and 9.9% stake in coal, iron ore and ferroalloys exploration firm Xanadu Mines.” 
It adds Noble is its top pick among Singapore traders after its strong 2010 results, with momentum expected to continue through 2011. 

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