Marathon rejects Bentley's 'inadequate, highly opportunistic' bid Marathon Resources chairman Peter L Williams. MARATHON Resources directors have urged shareholders to reject investment company Bentley Capital's "inadequate and highly opportunistic" $2.3 million takeover offer. In a target's statement, Marathon's directors said the bidder's price of 2.5c was substantially less than the cash backing of each share of 4.84c. Shareholders were told to do nothing in relation to the on-market offer, which opens on November 11 and closes on December 11. "The offer ignores the prospectivity of Marathon's recent investments and its potential," chairman Peter Williams said. Marathon is in a very strong position in the junior sector of the resources market in that it currently has a significant amount of cash totalling $4.45 million. Most of the cash resources have been attributed to Marathon settling its litigation with the South Australian Government in February this year over the ban on mining at Arkaroola. Marathon spent more than six years and about $15 million exploring the site around Mt Painter and Mt Gee, which it said held the country's fifth largest undeveloped uranium deposit. Significant breaches of its exploration licence, including dumping of mine waste, led to suspension, stricter exploration on resumption of activity. Arkaroola is now protected from any mining activity through changes to the Mining Act and national and a World Heritage Listing. Marathon received compensation from the government for the permanent ban. It became a company with the cash resources to search for attractive opportunities to regain value for Marathon shareholders. In September Marathon signed a farm-in agreement with SAEX for base metals exploration in the Curnamona Province known as the Walparuta Project and has also invested in the mineral sands Oakvale Project, south of Cockburn near the border with NSW. Last month Bentley acquired a 20 per cent stake in Marathon for 2.5 cents per share and followed up with an unconditional, on-market bid to acquire the remaining shares for the same price.