Ein Aufsatz, der das lesen im Kaffeesatz kultiviert.
Oder
Außer Tinte nichts gewesen
gogh
BUSINESS DAY vom 22.11.04
Gold Fields looks to Norilsk to frustrate Harmony takeover
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources Editor
GOLD Fields executives are believed to have held secret talks in the past few days with Norilsk Nickel of Russia to buy the 20% stake that the Russian resource group holds in the South African miner.
Gold Fields' strategy is aimed at thwarting Harmony's hostile takeover bid, the first stage of which is due to expire this Friday. Gold Fields' counter-attack may result in a new windfall for the company's shareholders.
Gold Fields' spokesman Willie Jacobszwould not confirm the meeting.
However, it is understood that a number of senior Gold Fields executives, including chairman Chris Thompson and CE Ian Cockerill, met their counterparts from Norilsk at a neutral overseas venue.
A hint that Gold Fields was working on a surprise deal to blow the Harmony offer out of the water was provided by Cockerill in a carefully worded statement on Friday. Until then Gold Fields had been committed to reverse-listing its non-Southern African Development Community assets into IAMGOLD.
However, on Friday, Cockerill said that following some relaxation of South African exchange controls, this strategy was no longer as popular with Gold Fields' shareholders, and alternative strategies were being put together.
"Although we remain committed to the creation of Gold Fields International through the reverse takeover of IAMGOLD, our internationalisation strategy does not depend on it," he said.
It is believed that a favoured option would be for Gold Fields itself to acquire the Norilsk stake.
The purchase from Norilsk would require a generous premium from Gold Fields for the Russians to be able to break an existing deal to sell the Gold Fields shares to Harmony, and this is believed to be one issue discussed by Gold Fields and Norilsk bosses. Gold Fields could fund the purchase with cash, or by offering some of its offshore assets in a swap, or it could fund the share purchase through a rights issue.
Harmony director Ferdi Dippenaar said Friday's statement by Cockerill indicated Gold Fields' managers were becoming convinced they were losing support among their own shareholders.
Jacobsz said "at our AGM, Gold Fields shareholders gave the board and management an overwhelming mandate to fight Harmony's hostile bid. We do what our shareholders want us to do, not what Harmony thinks we should do."
Harmony said at the weekend the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had given it permission to begin acquiring shares in Gold Fields as part of a hostile bid. The decision comes after Harmony, at the request of the SEC, removed Gold Fields' 2003 earnings figures from its takeover bid sent to shareholders last month.
Business Day
