Gold Fields announced yesterday that it terminated its proposed acquisition of Yamana Gold.
This week Yamana Gold said it preferred a deal offered by Pan American Silver and Agnico Eagle Mines over the Gold Fields deal, which was announced in the spring. The competing bid from Agnico Eagle-Pan American was announced last week.
Gold Fields said it did not want to be drawn into a bidding war. Some major shareholders were also critical of the deal.
“Gold Fields put together a compelling transaction that provided significant near and long term value for all shareholders," said Yunus Suleman, chair of Gold Field. "The emergence of another bid highlighted the value of these assets and the need to respond to systemic strategic challenges facing the gold industry. However, we are disciplined in how we assess the value of assets and opportunities, and we were not prepared to be drawn into a bidding war which would have been value destructive for our shareholders. The board and management will continue to execute our strategy of improving the quality and value of our portfolio of assets.”
