Northern Star rejects Gold Fields takeover proposal

Northern Star Resources has unanimously rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from Gold Fields, saying the offer undervalued the Australian miner and its shareholders would take on greater jurisdictional risk through the proposed share component. The company said it would not engage further on the approach. Gold Fields submitted the conditional, non-binding proposal on September 14. Under its terms, Northern Star shareholders would have received A$7.25 in cash and 0.3125 Gold Fields shares for each Northern Star share. The proposal implied an equity value of A$38.7 billion when made, according to Northern Star’s account. Northern Star said the offer materially undervalued its portfolio of long-life assets and came ahead of growth catalysts, including the commissioning and ramp-up of the Fimiston Mill at its Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines operation. Chairman Michael Chaney said the board also objected to the proposal’s conditions and to shareholders receiving nearly three-quarters of the consideration in Gold Fields stock, which he said carried a higher jurisdictional risk profile than Northern Star’s existing exposure.