Gold Exploration in West Africa

[FL]

Gold Fields (GFI) board rejects Harmony (HMY) bid

I guess I agree with the GFI board. I like the Iamgold/GFI deal (unlike the no good Iamgold/Wheaton deal that was rejected), and I'm a bit unmoved by Russian Norilsk's desire to control all of GFI. Unless the offers or circumstances change, I think I'll be voting my GFI shares FOR the Iamgold deal and AGAINST the Harmony takeover. A mostly Ghanaian-Malian Gold Fields Spinoff might attract Newmont (NEM) or the like; they now like West, but not South, Africa.

FL
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Gold Fields rejects Harmony bid
By CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:05 PM ET Oct. 18, 2004


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Johannesburg-based mining company Gold Fields Limited late Monday said its board of directors has unanimously rejected an unsolicited $8.1 billion buyout bid from Harmony.

Gold Fields reiterated its commitment to its proposed acquisition by Toronto-based Iamgold Corp. (IAG: news, chart, profile) (CA:IMG: news, chart, profile), announced in August.

Gold Fields said it prefers the Iamgold offer "as it provides an international platform for aggressive growth with full access to international debt and capital markets."

The company added that the Iamgold bid "unlocks the intrinsic value of Gold Fields' international assets and places control of a global growth vehicle firmly in South African hands."

Harmony (HMY: news, chart, profile), also based in Johannesburg, had offered 1.275 new Harmony shares for each Gold Fields share, and said the deal represented a 29-percent premium for Gold Fields stock.

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