Aug 4, 2003

By Peter A. McKay, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street JournalNEW YORK -- AngloGold Ltd. announced it will acquire Ashanti Goldfields Co. for $990 million in stock, a deal that will form the world's largest gold-mining concern.

The two companies, which will go by AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., had been in talks since May. Ashanti, based in Accra, Ghana, was advised by CIBC World Markets.

The deal was struck by the two firms' boards and needs approval by Ghana's government, which holds veto power over the disposal of Ashanti's assets. However, British mining firm Lonmin PLC is Ashanti's biggest shareholder -- with a 28% stake in the firm -- and has agreed to the deal, according to a prepared statement issued by Johannesburg, South Africa-based AngloGold.

AngloGold Chief Executive Bobby Godsell, who will remain in his post, expects to get final approval from the Ghanaian government sometime in September.

If the deal goes as planned, it will put AngloGold back on top of the gold- mining world, where it had reigned as the largest producer until 2001. It has since slipped to third place, behind Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) and Canada's Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX).

By Peter A. McKay; 
Source:  The Wall Street Journal