Gold Fields Pishes At Every Offer

South African mining company Gold Fields? shareholders have unambiguously rejected the reverse takeover of some of its assets by Canadian goldminer IAMGold, and the subsequent division of the company into local and foreign entities.

The decision has been made despite a last minute repricing of the deal, when Gold Fields and IAMGold agreed that the proposed new company would get $200 million less in cash.

Harmony Gold, a smaller Gold Fields? domestic rival, which had a finger in the pie, helping to arrange the deal?s failure through its hostile takeover bid for Gold Fields, immediately seized on the vote outcome to recommend a friendly arrangement.

Harmony was partially successful with its early stage offer in which it acquired 10.8% of Gold Fields, but the market has signalled that Harmony has little hope of achieving control with its second stage offer which opened last week.