CHINA’S Sinosteel has all but won control of iron ore miner Midwest after four of the takeover target’s directors agreed to sell their shares.

Midwest chairman Jesse Taylor and directors Francis Ng, Steven Chong and Stephen de Belle said they would accept the $6.38 cash a share offer from Sinosteel for their collective 4.1 per cent holding in the company.

This will give Sinosteel, China’s second largest iron ore trader, a 49.68 per cent stake in Midwest.

The Chinese metals trader was also rumoured to have bought an additional 1 per cent of Midwest on market, taking it close to controlling more than 50 per cent of the company.

However, a compulsory takeover may still be a battle with Murchison Metals vowing to hang on to its 10 per cent stake in Midwest.

Murchison’s largest shareholder – Harbinger Capital Partners – also holds 9.11 per cent of Midwest’s share register, while two Midwest directors remain

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Big miners drag down share market THE Australian share market was weaker at noon as losses in the resources sector continued to weigh, although banking stocks recovered. At 12 noon AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 26.5 points to 5114.4 while the broader All Ordinaries shed 30.6 points to 5230.5. The September share price index futures contract was 20 points lower at 5118 on a volume of 20,255 contracts. During the morning, the S&P/ASX200 index had reached a low of 5060.6, close to its 2008 trough of 5039.60 reached on March 17. Macquarie Equities adviser Helen Spencer said banking stocks had recovered from their morning lows as investors took heart from increased confidence that the central bank was unlikely to raise interest rates again this year. “While the market pulling is down a bit because of resources, the financials have had a great result,” Ms Spencer said. “Talk about holding interest rates steady would also be ...