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Gold/Mining/Energy : A to Z Junior Mining Research Site -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 4figureau who wrote (87)	5/27/2002 12:36:11 AM
From: 4figureau	Respond to of 5423

That didn't take too long! Sunday May 26, 10:13 pm Eastern Time Reuters Company News Placer Dome bids $1.1 bln for AurionGold By Tom Johnson and Wendy Pugh NEW YORK/MELBOURNE, May 27 (Reuters) - Placer Dome Inc (Toronto:PDG.TO - News) joined the ranks of North American gold mining predators on Monday, launching a A$2 billion ($1.1 billion) stock bid for Australia's AurionGold Ltd (Australia:AOR.AX - News). The unsolicited offer, which comes as bullion trades at its highest price in more than two years, would create the world's No. 5 gold mining company with output of more than 3.8 million ounces per year. "This deal makes good sense for everyone," Placer Dome chief executive Jay Taylor told a briefing. "This is not only a logical move that will create more opportunity and greater long-term value, it is another step in the consolidation of the global gold industry." Toronto-based Placer Dome said it would offer 17.5 of its shares for each 100 AurionGold shares. Based on closing prices Friday, that valued the Australian firm at $2.51 (A$4.51) a share, a 30 percent premium to Friday's close. A takeover would give Placer Dome full ownership of the rich Granny Smith gold mine in the West Australia outback and lift its stake in the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea to 75 percent. Aurion also has runs a gold mine in Tasmania state and has a 21 percent stake in a Zimbabwean platinum mine. Placer Dome forecast annual post tax synergies of $25 million, helping push the combined companies cash cost of mining down to $175 per ounce. Taylor said he had already secured the support of AurionGold's leading shareholder, South Africa's Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd (HARJ.J), which has agreed to vote its 9.8 percent stake in favor of the acquisition. Shares in AurionGold, created last year from the merger of Delta Gold Ltd and Goldfields Ltd, jumped as high as A$4.60 at the open but eased to A$4.57 around noon (0200 GMT). Taylor told Reuters he wasn't fretting over a counter-bid. "It's hard to believe somebody could make a better synergistic case than we can," he said, "We know each other and there's already a level of comfort between the two companies." The unsolicited bid came as gold prices hovered around highs of $320 an ounce amid concerns about new attacks on U.S. landmarks, continued violence in the Middle East and escalating tension between India and Pakistan. TOP SHAREHOLDER SUPPORTING BID The bid by Placer Dome marks the second offer to acquire a large Australian gold mining firm in the last year. Only South Africa and the United States produce more gold than Australia. Late last year, Denver-based Newmont Mining Co.'s (NYSE:NEM - News) paid $2.1 billion for Australia's largest gold producer Normandy Mining after a pitched battle with South Africa's AngloGold Ltd. (ANGJ.J). Analysts said they would be surprised if another bidder emerged for AurionGold, given the cross-ownerships that exist, Placer Dome's high-priced scrip, and support for Placer Dome from Harmony Gold. "It would be a pretty high risk strategy for AngloGold or anyone else to come out on this one unless they wanted a pretty difficult bidding war," said an investment banker. "AngloGold's appetite for bidding wars isn't as high as it may have been a year ago," he said. Placer Dome's role as operator of Porgera and Granny Smith and the fact that North American gold miners were trading at a premium to other gold miners, would give it a big advantage in any bidding war. Other potential counterbidders would be Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp (Toronto:ABX.TO - News; NYSE:ABX - News) and Newmont Mining, but analysts added Newmont was absorbed in digesting Normandy. "If they're using highly valued paper, which most of the North Americans have, anybody could have a crack at it," said an analyst in Sydney. "I don't think anyone is going to do anything for a little while." The bid was conditional on at least 50.1 percent acceptance. AurionGold was due to release a statement later on Monday on the offer, which would have to be approved by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board. biz.yahoo.com

To: 4figureau who wrote (87)	5/27/2002 2:09:00 AM
From: Speirs, Robert	Respond to of 5423

Visit the Georgia Ventures GVI-cdnx forum. You shall not be disappointed.

To: 4figureau who wrote (87)	6/10/2002 2:31:02 PM
From: 4figureau	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5423

4 down...many more to go..ABX will probably do 3 or 4 before year end: >>NEM plans to, "aggressively replace reserves while selling off low-grade assets." This needs to be done to reduce their 7.3 Mil. ounce hedge book that they inherited from Normandy. There are only 2 ways for ABX (and NEM to a lesser extent) to unwind their short positions. They need to quickly buy very large amounts of physical gold -- or acquire production. Seem as how they are in the business of selling gold.. buying production is one of their only options. One or 2 mergers and the trickle down excitement is going to drive the small cap gold stocks wild. My guess is that we will see 6 to 12 mergers and acquisitions by year end to over the next 2 years.<< Message 17517930