Talks held in Moscow between various parties involved in Harmony Gold Mining’s $5,9-billion takeover bid for Gold Fields have been described as ”constructive” without any details of the discussions being revealed.
If successful, the Harmony bid would create the world’s largest gold mining company.
The talks were held on Friday in Moscow in an attempt to find a new way forward in the two-month old takeover saga which has so far resulted in Harmony gaining 11,8% of Gold Fields shares and blocking Gold Fields proposed merger with Canada’s Iamgold.
Those attending the talks hosted by Norilsk Nickel & Mining, Gold Fields’ largest shareholder, included Harmony chief executive Bernard Swanepoel, Gold Fields chief executive Ian Cockerill and Mark Willcox, chief executive of Mvelaphanda Resources, a 15% owner of Gold Fields’ South African assets.
While Johannesburg’s Business Report newspaper cited Willcox as saying ”things are going well, there is constructive dialogue,” other parties involved in the discussions declined to comment.
Harmony’s marketing director, Ferdi Dippenaar, said he couldn’t comment on the content of the meeting, as did Gold Fields’ spokesperson Willie Jacobsz.
Harmony’s US-traded shares closed on Monday down 23 cents, or 2,4%, at $9,1 on the New York Stock Exchange — near the low end of their 52-week trading range of $9,05 to $17,80.
Gold Fields’ US shares ended up 2 cents at $12,70 on the NYSE, in the middle of their 52-week trading range of $9,13 to $15,25. – Sapa-AP