By Adriano Marchese


Gold Fields Ltd. said that its original offer for Yamana Gold Inc. remains the superior bid after Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Pan American Silver Corp. made a rival offer for the Canadian miner.

The Johannesburg-based mining company said that its offer is the demonstrably superior one, and that its combination with Yamana will create significantly greater near and long-term value for their shareholders.

Gold Fields American depositary receipts in New York were trading over 18% higher at $8.65 in morning trading, while in Toronto, Yamana Gold Shares were trading at C$6.53.

"Gold Fields, in consultation with its financial and legal advisers, strongly believes that the terms of its agreement with Yamana for the acquisition of the Yamana Shares are demonstrably superior to the joint offer," the company said.

Earlier Friday, Pan American and Agnico offered for each Yamana share around $1.04 in cash, 0.1598 Pan American share and 0.0376 Agnico Eagle share for a total value of about $5.02 per Yamana share. In total, this amounts to $1 billion in cash contributed by Agnico Eagle, 36.1 million of its common shares, and 153.5 million common shares of Pan American.

In June, Gold Fields first approached Yamana with a proposal valuing Yamana at $6.7 billion, offering a 34% premium to the volume-weighted price for Yamana at the time.

Gold Fields, which has the right to match an offer according to its original agreement, said it will continue to work toward completing the transaction.

A meeting of Yamana shareholders is scheduled for Nov. 21 to determine the fate of the transaction.


Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com


Corrections & Amplifications

This article was corrected at 1:15 p.m. ET. Yamana Gold Inc.'s Toronto-listed shares were at 6.53 Canadian dollars, or about US$4.75, in midmorning trading. The original version incorrectly said the shares were trading at C$8.68.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-04-22 1037ET