Newmont Mining files for $1 billion offering (SEA CHANGE?)
1/23/2004
[could mark a new beginning for investment banking opinion on mining stocks... since a major gold miner now appeals to Wall Street, with some $60-70 million in potential fees as it raises $1 billion in equity offerings... they are a largecap NYSE stock... a critical point in a SEA CHANGE???]
By James Paton
NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) , the world's largest gold producer, on Friday filed with regulators to raise up to $200 million for a possible acquisition and to sell up to another $1 billion in debt and stock.
"We looked at the big picture and we felt that given our share price and where the market is, it made sense," said Doug Hock, a spokesman for Newmont Mining.
The move comes after a hot streak for Newmont shares, which have risen more than 50 percent over the past year, and amid talk the Denver-based company may be pondering a big purchase of a mining rival.
The company in November raised about $1 billion, offering 24 million shares of stock. The new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gives the company the ability to raise another $1 billion, Hock said.
Net proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes including debt repayment, acquisitions and additions to working capital, the company said in a shelf registration statement.
Such a filing is designed to give companies advance regulatory permission to sell securities in one or more offerings, with terms and conditions generally determined at the time of sale.
In addition to the $1 billion filing, the company registered separately on Friday to increase the amount of money it can raise for a possible acquisition. Previously that amount, set in 1999, was $50 million, Hock said.
"We're always looking at opportunities, but this was done looking at the big picture and saying how do we need to position ourselves going forward," Hock said.
Newmont shares closed Friday at $42.25, down 1.3 percent, or 55 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange. |
