Companies

MMR withdraws $6.6b acquisition plan for Equinox

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-26 17:34

HONG KONG - Minmetals Resources (MMR), China's biggest metal trader, said Tuesday it withdrew the planned bid of offering to acquire copper miner Equinox Minerals for C$6.3 billion ($6.6 billion).

MMR said Equinox will recommend its shareholders to accept an offer from Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold miner, of C$8.15 per Equinox share, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

MMR announced its intention to make a conditional takeover bid to acquire all the shares in Equinox on April 4 with an offer of $7 per Equinox share. The overall price was about 14.3 percent less than Barrick's final bid of $7.7 billion.

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"The price offered by Barrick is above our most optimistic assessment of value," Andrew Michelmore, chief executive officer of MMR said in the statement, "Competing with Barrick at these prices would, in our view, be value destructive for MMR's shareholders."

Michelmore said the current about 4.2 percent stake in Equinox has already been financially attractive for MMR and the company will turn its attention to other opportunities.

Dual listed in Canada and Australia, Equinox operates mainly in Zambia and Saudi Arabia.

Shares of MMR resumed trading from 1:30 p.m. Tuesday after a suspension from 9:14 a.m. in the morning.