/ 25 October 2004

Gold Fields prepares response to Harmony bid

The board of world number-four gold miner Gold Fields on Monday said it is working closely with its independent financial advisers and plans to publish its formal response to Harmony’s offer by November 3.

Last Monday, Harmony announced it is making a hostile bid for Gold Fields and is seeking to create the world’s largest gold mining group by merging with Gold Fields.

The board met last Friday to assess the full implications of Harmony’s hostile offer for Gold Fields’ shareholders as well as the range of measures available to Gold Fields in the preparation of a defence plan.

Gold Fields’ board said it has noted concerns related to the manner in which Harmony’s offer is being conducted and its impact on shareholders’ rights, as well as the destruction of value.

“In preparing its response to the unsolicited hostile offer from Harmony, the Gold Fields board will be guided by its responsibility to protect the rights of all shareholders as well as the preservation of value,” the Gold Fields board said in a statement.

The board also said it has been advised that, under the United States federal securities laws, it is constrained in what it can say in relation to Harmony’s offer until the filing of its formal response on a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. — I-Net Bridge