Listed Roy Morgan to Prospect Overseas

Australian pollster and researcher Gary Morgan plans to use Haoma, a gold mining company majority owned by his family, to get a 'backdoor listing' for the Roy Morgan Research Centre on the country's Stock Exchange, the ASX. The major independent MR player will use the listing to fund expansion worldwide.

After many years, and millions of dollars trying to achieve commercial production of gold from Western Australia's Pilbara region, 63-year-old Morgan has now suspended the attempts and put Haoma Mining's operations on a 'care and maintenance' footing.

Under the plan, likely to be voted on by Haoma's remaining shareholders in the next two months, the company would change its name to Roy Morgan Research Ltd, and Morgan's family would acquire the mining assets of Haoma in lieu of being repaid a AUD $10.1m loan. Haoma would then issue the family with shares to acquire the MR business at a price to be fixed by independent experts. The family owns 66% of Haoma at present and 85% of the research firm, of which employees own the rest.

The research company was founded in 1941 by Gary's father Roy and is probably the country's best-known independent. It turns over more than AUD $40 million a year and has operations in New Zealand, the US, the UK and Indonesia. Last year it acquired US communication and advertising research specialists Mapes & Ross. The listed company is expected to seek AUD $10-$20 million through a new share issue, with Haoma shareholders given a priority.

A buoyant Mr Morgan said the MR business was 'one of the most profitable market research companies in the world', was expanding quickly and looking to expand faster overseas, with plans for Chinese operations 'relatively soon' as well as growth in the UK, New Zealand, Indonesia and the US. 'Most of the major market research companies have wanted to buy us over the last five years' he added, 'but it's got to be worth a lot more in five years than it is today'.

For those more interested in the literal gold mining than the figurative, Mr Morgan said the problem was 'trouble getting the gold out of the sulphides... I've cracked it in the lab but getting it to work in the plant is very difficult'.

Roy Morgan's rich seam of online content can be dug into at www.roymorgan.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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