Lundin Mining rejects €3bn rival takeover offer from Equinox

Lundin Mining, the Canadian owner of the Galmoy mine which agreed to be acquired by Inmet Mining, has rejected Equinox Minerals…

Lundin Mining, the Canadian owner of the Galmoy mine which agreed to be acquired by Inmet Mining, has rejected Equinox Minerals’s 4.2 billion Canadian dollar (€3 billion) unsolicited rival takeover bid as too low.

Equinox’s offer represents an inadequate takeover premium. Moreover, the Australian company would be burdened with too much debt to finance the acquisition, Toronto-based Lundin indicated yesterday in a statement. The all-stock bid from Inmet, also based in Toronto, values the copper and zinc mining group at 3.59 billion Canadian dollars. Equinox and Inmet are battling to acquire Lundin’s stake in a copper and cobalt venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo and four mines in Europe as the absence of new projects forces miners to expand through acquisitions. – (Bloomberg)