$27 Billion Bid Falls Short as Northern Star Rejects Gold Fields Takeover

Gold Fields Limited (GFI) has made an unsuccessful $27.1 billion bid for Northern Star Resources Ltd (NESRF), a move that would have created the world's second-largest gold producer behind Newmont.

The board of NESRF unanimously rejected the unsolicited takeover proposal, which offered 0.3125 new GFI shares plus 7.25 Australian dollars ($5.09) in cash for each NESRF share.

The proposed deal would have combined annual output to 4.1 million ounces, with exposure consolidated around Western Australia's Kalgoorlie district, home to NESRF's Super Pit.

NESRF Chairman Michael Chaney said the bid 'fell well short of what we consider to be our fundamental value' and that GFI was seeking to acquire a premier gold portfolio at an opportunistic time.