With spot gold consistently hitting all-time highs, another multi-billion dollar gold merger has been roadblocked this month after Gold Road Resources (ASX : GOR) refused a $3.3 billion takeover bid by South Africa’s Gold Fields.
The first one to stall was between Canadian miners Equinox Resources attempting a takeover of Calibre Mining - a similarly priced $2.83 billion deal that seems somewhat dead in the water at this point in time.
If Gold Fields had its way, it would give the miner full ownership of the Gruyere mine which churns out about 285,000 ozpa, as well as exposure to De Grey Mining (ASX : DEG) with an almost 18% stake.
The offer was priced at a 21% premium at $2.27 per share - a variable portion equal to the value of Gold Road’s shareholding in De Grey, which with its 11Moz+ gold Hemi deposit in the Pilbara is soon to be acquired by Northern Star Resources (ASX : NST) for a cool $5 billion.
Gold Road counter-offered to buy out Gold Fields' own stake as a reply - with both parties unable to reach a deal with each other.
The miner said it noted that “the receipt of the offer coincided with a lower March 2025 quarter production due to maintenance on the primary crusher and the failure of two conveyor belts”.
“Further, the offer appears to have been opportunistically tabled by Gold Fields in advance of the completion of exploration and studies into the potential underground expansion of the Gruyere mine.
“The offer attributes no value at all to the potential underground expansion of the Gruyere mine. As such, the Gold Road board formed the view that it [was] not in the best interest of its shareholders to accept the offer and rejected the offer on March 14.”
Interestingly, investment fund Blackrock, which has US$11.5 trillion under its belt, has loosened its position in the bullion producer after the rejected M&A.
Gold Road shares bounced on yesterday's news, up 13% today to trade at $2.77.
