Dattels set to make a mint from Polo

Executive chairman Stephen Dattels has invested more than £1.5m in coal mining investment company Polo Resources but he could be getting the majority of that back in dividends.

Dattels bought 30m shares at 5.12p each. The share price was around 3.5p at the beginning of July. Dattels owns 6.12% of Polo.

Dattels may not have to wait long to get most of his money back. Polo may pay a 3p a share special dividend following the sale of its stake in uranium explorer Extract Resources for $138m, although the disposal requires shareholder approval.

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If the 3p a share dividend is paid Dattels would receive £4.25m on his total holding - including £900,000 for the shares just acquired.

The share purchase came just after Polo rejected an indicative all share offer from 4% shareholder Laxey Partners. Laxey wants to acquire Polo through a new company and then sell off all its assets and return the cash to shareholders.

Polo has also sold its Mongolian joint venture for an initial $15m with $20m more to come. Polo will receive a 0.5% net royalty on coal sold until the total payments reach $50m.

Polo and fellow coal miner Caledon Resources called off their proposed merger last month but continue to work together. Polo and Caledon could not agree on merger terms because of market volatility. However, Polo has invested £2.13m in a placing at 30p a share and it owns more than 27% of Caledon, which has drawn down a £14.9m loan from Polo in order to repay £14.5m of loan notes in July.

Top Director Buys

Polo Resources (POL) Director name: Mr Stephen R DattelsAmount purchased: 30,000,000 @ 5.12p Value: £1,536,000

Mavinwood (MVW) Director name: Sir William WellsAmount purchased: 3,140,000 @ 0.56p Value: £17,584

Mavinwood (MVW) Director name: Mr Charles SkinnerAmount purchased: 3,140,000 @ 0.56p Value: £17,584