Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) chairperson聽Tim聽Netscher聽has defended the company鈥檚 decision to reject an unsolicited a A$3.3 billion ($2.1 billion) takeover bid from聽South Africa鈥檚 Gold Fields (JSE, NYSE: GFI), its joint partner in the Gruyere mine in Western Australia.
At the heart of the matter lies the price and timing of the bid, Duncan Gibbs, the Australian company鈥檚 chief executive has said. Gold Fields had proposed acquiring 100% of Gold Road鈥檚 shares through a scheme of arrangement, offering A$2.27 per share in cash, along with a variable component linked to Gold Road鈥檚 stake in De Grey Mining.
In response,聽Gold聽Road聽put forward a counter-proposal to acquire聽Gold聽Fields鈥� stake in the Gruyere mine at the same implied valuation as the rejected offer.聽Gold聽Fields dismissed this counter-offer and and declined to engage in further discussions about selling its interest.
Netscher said on Thursday that Gold Road has not sought to pursue any additional proposals to acquire Gold Fields鈥� interest in Gruyere and does not intend to do so as part of any further engagement with Gold Fields regarding their proposal.聽
The executive characterized the counter-proposal as a response to an opportunistic bid, describing the offered price as 鈥減atently inadequate鈥� and, therefore, highly attractive to the purchaser.
鈥淕old聽Fields鈥� rejection of our counter-proposal signals that, like us, they see significant value in Gruyere beyond what was offered in their proposal,鈥� Netscher stated in the letter.
Gold聽Road聽said it is open to discussions with Gold Fields, though Netscher emphasized that any transaction must prioritize the best interests of shareholders and provide full and fair value.
The Gruyere mine has produced more than 1.5 million ounces since聽kicking off operations in 2019. In the final three months of 2024, the operation recorded its highest-ever quarterly output at nearly 92,000 ounces.