Freshfields and Herbies lead on $10bn mining bid
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is advising Swiss mining giant Xstrata on a $10bn (£5.15bn) hostile bid for Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer, writes The Am Law Daily.Lonmin rejected the hostile bid, describing it as "opportunistic" and "entirely unwelcome" in a statement issued by Lonmin's board on Wednesday (6 August).The target company's shares jumped over 50% after Xstrata announced its bid, driving share prices higher than the premium represented by Xstrata's offer.
August 07, 2008 at 08:03 AM
2 minute read
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is advising Swiss mining giant Xstrata on a $10bn (£5.15bn) hostile bid for Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer, writes The Am Law Daily.
Lonmin, which has instructed Herbert Smith, rejected the hostile bid, describing it as "opportunistic" and "entirely unwelcome" in a statement issued by Lonmin's board on Wednesday (6 August).
The target company's shares jumped over 50% after Xstrata announced its bid, driving share prices higher than the premium represented by Xstrata's offer.
Corporate partner Julian Makin is leading the Freshfields team. Makin has represented Xstrata on at least four recent deals, including its $1.7bn (£871m) acquisition of a one-third stake in a Colombian coal mine and $18.8bn (£9.7bn) hostile takeover of Falconbridge in Canada.
Lonmin has instructed London's corporate team at Herbert Smith to advise on the bid with head of the group, Michael Walter, leading the team.
The move is part of a wave of consolidations in the metals industry as companies try to take advantage of rising prices driven by demand from China.
The Am Law Daily last week reported on Teck Cominco's $14bn (£7.2bn) acquisition of Calgary-based Fording Canadian Coal Trust, a deal that followed on the heels of Cleveland Cliffs' $10bn (£5.15bn) bid for Virginia-based coal producer Alpha Natural resources.
The deal also underlines the current high levels of unsolicited bid activity this year, as cash-rich companies have moved to acquire strategic assets hit by falling share prices. A Lonmin spokeswoman did not return calls or e-mails.
The Am Law Daily is the website of The American Lawyer, Legal Week's US sister title.
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