By Ben Hirschler and Nicholas Kotch
LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Ashanti Goldfields Co Ltd and the Ghanaian government said on Monday they were considering all options after Lonmin Plc cut its offer for the group by 20 percent.
Lonmin amended its offer to 16 shares for every 27 Ashanti shares, down from the previous proposed ratio of 32 to 43, in a move which analysts said reflected the hedging problems closing in on Africa’s third largest gold producer.
The revised bid values Ashanti at around $665 million, or $5.95 a share, against the previous offer from Lonmin — which already owns 32 percent of Ashanti — worth $7.50.
“There is a gap in the valuation that we have to sort out,” said Ashanti’s senior spokesman, James Anaman, by telephone from Accra. “We are looking at that critically and we have other possibilities alongside this one that we are assessing.”
Ghana’s government — which has a 20 percent stake and a veto vote in the country’s biggest company — echoed that view, saying it would be talking to other potential investors who had expressed an interest.
Industry sources said other potential suitors included South Africa’s AngloGold Ltd, which has long coveted Ashanti’s rich gold mines, and Barrick Gold Corp of Canada, which is keen on the Geita gold project in Tanzania.
