DRD tables takeover bid for Emperor in Australia
March 9, 2004
By Reuters
Sydney - Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD), the South African and Australian listed part-owner of Australian gold producer Emperor Mines, said yesterday it had made a full takeover bid for Emperor.
Emperor advised its shareholders to take no action for now but shares in the Australian company gained as much as 28 percent to a six-month high of A$0.86 (R4.36) in higher-than-normal volumes yesterday, last fetching A$0.85.
South African-based DRD said it bid one DRD share for every five Emperor shares, which it said valued Emperor at A$105 million.
DRD owns 19.8 percent of Emperor, just under the 20 percent trigger above which it would be legally required under Australian law, to bid for all of the company.
It bid A$0.88c a share, a 31 percent premium to its A$0.67 close on Friday.
Emperor advised its shareholders to await DRD's official bid documents and an independent assessment of Emperor, though indicated the offer was friendly.
"Through this offer, Emperor shareholders will have the opportunity to participate in DRD's future growth strategy," Emperor chairman Jim Wall said.
Analysts said a share swap would give Emperor shareholders the option to sell for cash or hold the shares and participate in any upside that might occur under DRD, which is also listed in Australia and is anxious to expand outside South Africa.
The offer also came as consolidation in the Australia's publicly listed gold mining sector limits the number of investment choices, they said.
DRD, which produces more than 1 million ounces of gold a year, making it the world's 11th-largest gold producer, raised about $33 million (R221.7 million) three weeks ago by issuing 10.2 million new shares to Investec.
DRD had been expected to bid for Emperor, which mines the Vatukoala lode in central Fiji, seen as a good fit with DRD's stated expansion plans outside South Africa into the promising Pacific Rim region for a number of reasons.
DRD lost 65c to R22.57 in Johannesburg yesterday.
|
|
