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Gold Fields' Bolivar bid to get scrutiny Posted: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 [miningmx.com] -- GOLD Fields' $330m cash offer for Bolivar Gold will be submitted to an independent assessment following pressure by Scion Capital which holds a 14% stake in the Canadian firm. Scion was critical of a decision by Bolivar Gold to seek an exemption from the legal requirement to obtain an independent valuation, an important shareholder protection mechanism. “We’ve decided that it will take just as long to have the independent valuation conducted than to wait for the exemption from the study to be approved,” said Ian Cockerill, Gold Fields CEO. “So we’ve decided to go ahead and have the assessment done.” Gold Fields, which already owns 11.4% of Bolivar, hoped the exemption would be granted because it did not have board representation. “There’s every confidence that the offer will be deemed reasonable. Informal feedback from shareholders is that the deal is okay,” said Cockerill. An independent assessor had not yet been appointed. Scion Capital also said in its criticisms that Gold Fields had opportunistically made its offer for Bolivar Gold in the weeks after political instability in Venezuela had depressed its share price. Cockerill’s comments come hours after approval by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for Gold Fields offer, of which a portion will be cash. The South African regulatory authorities were also supportive of a plan launched by Gold Fields last year to reverse list into IamGold Corp, a deal that was defeated by shareholders. However, the finance department scuppered attempts by Gold Fields to merge with Franco-Nevada, another Canadian company, in 1999. Commenting on how much cash would be redeployed, Cockerill said: “There’s been no decision on the blend of cash and debt. But we’ve had a number of very favourable offers from banks.”Free news alerts: click here to subscribe
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