The President of the Takeovers Panel, Mr Simon McKeon, said today that he was delighted with the operation of the rejuvenated Takeovers Panel in its first year.

The Takeovers Panel today advises that it has declared that St Barbara Mines caused unacceptable circumstances and breached section 606 of the Corporations Law by acquiring 4 million shares in Taipan Resources on 12 October 2000. St Barbara thereby increased Strata Mining Corporation's voting power in Taipan to more than 20%. An application for the declaration was made by Troy Resources on Tuesday 13 February. Troy is also bidding for Taipan.

The Takeovers Panel today advises that it has ordered that 2.7 million shares in Taipan Resources that were acquired by St Barbara Mines on 12 October 2000 be vested in ASIC for sale. The Panel had previously declared that St Barbara Mines caused unacceptable circumstance and breached section 606 of the Corporations Law by acquiring 4 million shares in Taipan Resources on 12 October 2000. St Barbara thereby increased Strata Mining Corporation's voting power in Taipan to more than 20%. An application for the declaration was made by Troy Resources on Tuesday 13 February.

The Takeovers Panel advises that it has today decided to commence proceedings in relation to an application for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in relation to the bidder's statement issued St Barbara Mines Ltd in its bid for Taipan Resources NL. The application was made by Troy Resources on Tuesday 27 February. Troy is also bidding for Taipan.

The application asserts that St Barbara's bidder's statement has disclosure deficiencies in relation to:

The Takeovers Panel has today released for public comment, two policies relating to its role as the determiner of unacceptable circumstances in takeovers.

The first is a guide to the Panel's view on issues it will take into consideration in determining whether particular circumstances are unacceptable.

The second is a discussion on the remedies that the Panel has at its disposal in ensuring that takeovers disputes are settled quickly and efficiently and that they "get back on track" as quickly as possible.

The Takeovers Panel has today received an application for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in relation to the bidder's statement issued by Simon Gilbert Wines ("SGW") in its scrip bid for Vincorp Wineries. SGW gave its bidder's statement to Vincorp on 15 February.

The application asserts that Simon Gilbert Wines' bidder's statement has disclosure deficiencies in relation to:

The Takeovers Panel has received an application for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in relation to the bidder's statement issued St Barbara Mines Ltd in its bid for Taipan Resources NL. The application was made by Troy Resources on Tuesday 273 February. Troy is also bidding for Taipan.

The application asserts that St Barbara's bidder's statement has disclosure deficiencies in relation to:

The Takeovers Panel has published its reasons for varying a decision by ASIC in relation to an application by Federation Group. The application was to modify the Corporations Law to allow Federation to exercise options in Pinnacle VRB which would increase Federation's voting power above the 20% threshold. The Panel decided the application on 8 February. It received it on 25 January.

The Takeovers Panel advises that it has published its reasons for declining an application from Taipan Resources for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in relation to Troy Resources' announcement of 13 December. Troy had announced that it intended to allow its previous bid for Taipan to lapse and to make another offer that was not conditional on the merger between St Barbara and Taipan not proceeding. It's previous bid contained this condition. The Panel received the application on 13 December 2000 and announced its decision on 22 December 2001.

The Takeovers Panel today advises that it has decided to commence limited proceedings in relation to an application for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances in relation to events leading up to and concerning the proposed bid by St Barbara Mines for Taipan Resources. The application was made by Troy Resources on Tuesday 13 February. Troy is also bidding for Taipan.

The Panel has initially decided to consider only the first allegation of the application: