TORONTO and RENO - YAMANA GOLD and NORTHERN ORION RESOURCES, both based in Toronto, have agreed to terms of a merger, but the third participant in the deal, MERIDIAN GOLD of Reno, Nevada, is not so eager.
The Yamana - Northern Orion portion of the deal looks like this: Yamana will take over Northern Orion by giving each of the latter company's shareholders 0.543 of a Yamana share for each share of Northern Orion that they hold. The offer represents a premium on the Northern Orion share price of between 21% and 24%. The directors of both companies support the deal unanimously.
Yamana is also offering a premium it says is 26% on the shares of Meridian. Meridian investors would receive 2.235 Yamana shares for each share of Meridian they hold. The offer is open until 8 pm Aug. 27 and is conditional on two-thirds of the Meridian shares being tendered. Meridian directors rejected an earlier offer from Yamana and at press time they had not made a decision on the latest offer.
If the three companies were to combine, the Yamana name would cover a number of copper-gold and gold-silver mines. Included are a 12.5% interest in the Alumbrera mine and 100% of the Gualcamayo mine in Argentina; 100% of the Chapada, Sao Francisco and Jacobina mines in Brazil; 100% of the El Penon and Minera Florida mines in Chile; plus exploration projects in Argentina, Brazil, Honduras and Nevada.
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