Norton Gold hold outs delay Zijin offer vote
China’s biggest gold miner, Zijin Mining, has been forced to defer a vote on its bid to mop up control of Norton Gold Fields after failing to win the support of minority shareholders for its 23¢-a-share offer.
Zijin launched a $33 million attempt to take Norton off the local boards in January at 20¢ a share, and in March upped its offer for the 18 per cent of the company it did not control.
But it still failed to convince enough of Norton’s minority shareholders to back the deal, and Norton yesterday deferred the meeting to consider the offer until mid-June.
Zijin chairman Jinghe Chen toldWestBusiness the company was committed to the offer.
Mr Chen would not commit to further raising the cash bid but said it was something that would be considered by Zijin’s board in the coming weeks.
He said Zijin would take a “wait and see” approach to a return vote but hoped to be able to convince Norton’s hold-out shareholders to accept.
“It is very regrettable that some of the shareholders would like to take more time to think about the offer,” he said.
“If Norton remains with the same share structure it would limit the development of the company. If Norton is delisted it will be able to rely on Zijin’s ability to raise more fund and give more chance for Norton to have a better plan of development.”
Mr Chen would not be drawn on what portion of Norton’s shareholders were holding out.
It is unclear whether the delay will have any impact on Zijin’s plans to expand its Australian presence in the near term.
Zijin has been linked to the acquisition of a suite of regional assets over the past month, including bids for Barrick Gold’s Cowal mine in NSW and Newcrest Mining’s Telfer operation.
It is also tipped as one of the only bidders for Barrick’s Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea.
Mr Chen confirmed Zijin had planned to use Norton as a vehicle to push asset buys in Australia but said it was still looking at acquisitions.
Zijin has been in an acquisitive mood over the past year, including paying $C81 million ($84 million) for a 10 per cent stake in Canada’s Pretium Resources.
