This is Frank Timis.
And if you thought he was just some two bit share promoter on London’s junior casino market, with a couple of convictions for possession of heroin, you’d be wrong. How do we know this? Because we have been reading Frank’s website.
Now, we are not sure when it was last updated, but franktimis.co.uk still gives a fascinating insight into this “master entrepreneur”.
Frank Timis is rarely out of the headlines. The man who started work at 16 as a penniless immigrant in a strange, hot country and who, in the space of 28 years, has built numerous highly successful companies around the world, is known, sometimes controversially, as a master entrepreneur. What is not recognised is the work he does behind the scenes as a passionate campaigner for the underprivileged and vulnerable.Quite.
So Frank is in fact the new Sir Bob Geldof.
Last year Frank gave $100,000 to the Sierra Leone national football team to help meet its aspirations to compete with the best. In the case of Eastern Petroleum, the emphasis is on financial input into cultural and sporting project.
The company sponsors the Kazakhstan National Ballet and has donated more the $500, 000 to schools and to sports and youth clubs.
There’s lots more on the site, including this:
The one thing he has never forgotten, through bad times as well as good, is that we should all give as much as we take. That doctrine has been a constant throughout his professional life.”
All of which is interesting, because Sir Frank is taking again. On Thursday morning African Minerals, the former Sierra Leone Diamonds, has announced a £63.8m fund raising, priced at 250p a share.
Commenting on the successful fund raising, Frank Timis, Executive Chairman of African Minerals, said:
“We are delighted with the support that premier institutional investors in North America and the United Kingdom have given the Company. Their commitment fully endorses the quality of the Company’s world class iron ore assets and our experienced executive and operational teams.
The proceeds will allow us to develop the magnetite iron ore resource towards our target of 10 billion tonnes and fast track the Tonkolili Definitive Feasibility Study, to create substantial value for our shareholders. In addition we will undertake engineering work on the infrastructure required to support our iron ore projects.
This is a very large step towards us realising the full potential of our world class iron ore deposit at Tonkolili and the future infrastructure rehabilitation and construction work will in due course provide positive benefits to the local community and the economy of Sierra Leone.”
Crikey. 10 billion tonnes!. That sounds big, almost as big as the major oil well Frank’s Regal Petroleum was supposed to have found off the coast of Greece a couple of years ago - a well that turned out to be dry.
And here’s one final thought, who are these “premier institutional investors” that have given Frank $100m to play with? Perhaps Renaissance Capital, book runner to the placing, can help us.
Update: Mike Savage at Killik thinks he might have the answer.
We get the impression that the funds were largely sourced from US investors keen to back the track record of CEO Alan Watling (given his achievements at Fortescue Metals) rather than necessarily endorsement by UK investors of the record of chairman Frank Timis. Whilst the funds are not needed at this juncture, they will serve to strengthen the hand of the company in negotiations with potential Asian off-take players.
So there you have it, investors aren’t backing Frank, they are backing Watling. That explains a lot.
Related links:
Regal chief resigns in oil field debacle - FT
Ousted Regal chief defends deal - FT
