massive change of control deal

http://www.businesslive.co.za/incoming/2011/05/13/gold-one-could-be-valued-at-r3bn-in-chinese-buyout


Gold One could be valued at R3bn in Chinese buyout
Gold One International, the Australian and African gold producer, is on the brink of announcing a massive change of control deal that could value the company at more than R3 billion.
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Gold One granted trading halt On Friday, the company requested a trading halt on the JSE and Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) pending the deal's announcement, which is scheduled for Monday next week.

Gold One is expected to announce next week that a consortium of Chinese investors led by Baiyin Nonferrous Metal Group has made an offer for the company.

Last month, the Chinese investors acquired a 17.7% stake in Gold One for Aus$75.6 million or about R544.9 million cash. This means it paid Aus$0.53 or R3.82 for each share.

According to the Australian Financial Review, the starting price for negotiations was the Aus$0.53 which they paid for the initial stake. The financial daily says the Chinese offer could value Gold One at Aus$420 million, which is about R3.1 billion. Gold One's market value is Aus$347 million on the ASX and R2.7 billion on the JSE.



The company first flagged the deal at the end of March in a response to an ASX query on a run in the company's share price.

It noted that it was currently assessing "a potential change of control transaction for the company", which, if it were to proceed, could involve an offer to Gold One shareholders to acquire all their shares.

At the time that the Chinese consortium bought its initial stake, Gold One CEO Neal Froneman told BusinessLIVE that the move "could be their first step".

Froneman was not available to answer calls on Friday. Gold One's Johannesburg office confirmed he was on a return flight from China.