Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin
(LON:CEY) (TSX:CEE) has accused Canada’s Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV) of making
it difficult for the company to assess the value of a potential business
combination unless it agrees to extending a firm offer deadline.
The London-listed gold miner said that since Endeavour was not engaging in a “proper manner” it would not ask UK regulators for an extension to a Dec. 31 bid deadline.
A merger would create a mid-tier gold miner with a market value of almost $4bn and annual production of more than 1.2 million ounces.
Earlier in the week, the gold
miners seemed to be moving forward on a possible merger as they
agreed to explore the feasibility of such kind of deal.
Centamin, which called the Toronto-listed
miner’s approach an “unsolicited offer”, had rejected the potential suitor’s original $1.9 billion (£1.5
billion) all-stock takeover bid, saying it did not offer enough value to its
shareholders.
It also noted at the time that
business combination would expose the company to the deteriorating security
situation in Burkina Faso, as almost half of Endeavour’s gold resources are
located in the west African country.
A deal would hand the Canadian
company Centamin’s Sukari gold mine in Egypt — a 500,000-ounce-a-year operation
and one of the world’s top ten deposits of the yellow metal.
Sukari, which began operations in
January 2010 and is Egypt’s largest gold mine, comprises a large open
pit and an underground portion. Last year, the company worked on
operational improvements on both sections, but they
took longer than planned to materialize, which affected
output.
A successful merger would create a mid-tier
gold company with a market value of almost $4 billion and annual output of more
than 1.2 million ounces.