EMBATTLED Sirius Minerals could be saved as a key investor yesterday pledged to back the controversial rescue deal proposed by Anglo American the day before a shareholder vote.

Jupiter Fund Management, which has a 7.8 per cent stake in the project, will tomorrow back the £405m deal, according to Sky News.

Last month, Sirius boss Chris Fraser urged investors to back the deal. However, critics have argued the 5.5p per share offered by the mining giant undervalues Sirius.

One of these is veteran city tycoon Crispin Odey, whose wife Nichola Pease runs Jupiter — which backs the takeover bid.

According to Odey, Anglo's offer is too cheap, and because it is not "best and final", Anglo American has left the door open to paying more. Odey owns around 1.3 per cent of Sirius compared to 7.8 per cent by Jupiter. It was hoped Sirius' North Yorkshire potash mine could generate jobs — both directly through the operation, and indirectly by exporting the product via the nearby port of Teeside. The mine is thought to be the largest potash deposit of in the world but the project ran into difficulty in September last year when it failed to win key funding.

Other investors include people local to the North Yorkshire site, some of whom are thought to have put their life savings into it. In addition to Fraser, local MP Robert Goodwill urged investors to accept the offer last month noting that there is no obvious viable alternative, making the way ahead for the mine even more uncertain if the rescue bid fails.

Investors will meet today to decide whether to accept the Anglo offer.

(c) 2020 City A.M., source Newspaper