By Dudley White Bloomberg News September 5, 2001 Johannesburg (Bloomberg) -- AngloGold Ltd. shares were suspended in Australia amid speculation the world's largest gold miner may bid for Normandy Mining Ltd. Shares in Normandy, Australia's biggest gold producer, were also suspended. Analysts have speculated Johannesburg-based AngloGold held talks last year with Normandy, which has a market value of A$2.5 billion ($1.3 billion) and A$1.18 billion in long-term debt. AngloGold spokeswoman Andrea Maxey said the company will make a further announcement at noon. AngloGold has been trying to boost profit by buying mines overseas and closing or selling operations in South Africa, where mining costs are among the highest in the world. The company in 1999 paid $529 million for Australia's Acacia Resources Ltd. "Seeing that trading halts have been applied to both at the same time suggests that some deal is happening. Whether it's friendly or not I have no idea," said Gary Armor, who helps manage A$1 billion in resources stocks at AMP Henderson Global Investors in Sydney. "It sort of makes sense. But at the moment it's all very tenuous." Normandy shares yesterday rose 4 cents, or 3.8 percent, to A$1.10. The Adelaide-based company said it "has reason to believe that it may be the subject of an announcement concerning a price-sensitive proposal in relation to the company's shares." Peter Bird, a spokesman for Normandy, couldn't be reached for further comment. Last July AngloGold was linked with a takeover bid for Normandy by analysts. In September, the company said it admired Normandy's assets though it wasn't about to make a bid. Toronto-based Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. in May bought a 19.9 percent stake in Normandy in exchange for cash and a mine. AngloGold, in a statement filed with the Australian Stock Exchange, said it was in talks about a "major transaction." "At this stage, AngloGold is not in a position to make an announcement in relation to the transaction or the outcome of these discussions," the company said. ________________________ If you benefit from GATA's dispatches, please consider making a financial contribution. GATA welcomes contributions as follows. By check: Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. c/o Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer 7 Villa Louisa Road Manchester, CT 06043-7541 USA By credit card (MasterCard, Visa, and Discover) over the Internet: http://www.gata.org/creditcard.html By bank wire: Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. c/o Savings Bank of Manchester 923 Main St. Manchester, CT 06040 USA Bank routing number 211-170-185 For account number 9500-574-053 By GoldMoney: http://www.GoldMoney.com Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. Holding number 50-08-58-L By E-Gold: http://www.e-gold.com Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. Account number 110915 GATA is a civil rights and educational organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and contributions to it are tax-deductible in the United States. -END- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> <FONT COLOR="#000099">FREE COLLEGE MONEY CLICK HERE to search 600,000 scholarships! </FONT><A HREF="http://us.click.yahoo.com/47cccB/4m7CAA/ySSFAA/WfTolB/TM";><B>Click Here!</B></A> ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
