Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin (TSX: CEE; LON: CEY) has accused Endeavour Mining (TSX: EDV) of making it difficult for the company to assess the value of a potential business combination unless it agrees to extending a firm offer deadline.
The London-listed gold miner said that since Endeavour was not engaging in a "proper manner," it would not ask U.K. regulators for an extension to a Dec. 31 bid deadline. Earlier in the week, the gold miners seemed to be moving forward on a possible merger as they agreed to explore the feasibility of a deal.
Centamin, which called the Toronto-listed miner's approach an "unsolicited offer", had rejected the potential suitor's original US$1.9 billion ( ?1.5 billion) all-stock takeover bid, saying it did not offer enough value to its shareholders.
It also noted at the time that a business combination would expose the company to the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, as almost half of Endeavour's gold resources are located in the West African country.
A deal would hand the Canadian company Centamin's Sukari gold mine in Egypt - a 500,000-oz.-per-year operation, and one of the world's top ten gold deposits.
Sukari, which began operations in January 2010, and is Egypt's largest gold mine, consists of a large open pit and an underground portion. Last year, the company worked on operational improvements on both sections, but they took longer than planned to materialize, which affected output.
A successful merger would create a mid-tier gold company, with a market value of almost $4 billion and annual output of more than 1.2 million ounces.
This article first appeared in our sister publication, Mining.com. https://www.mining.com/takeover-talks-between-gold-miners-endeavour-and-centamin-hit-a-snag/