here's a little ditty on the continuing battle over
who gets who or what...
(REUTERS) Coeur "puzzled" by Silver Wheaton, has no interest
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 19 (Reuters) - Coeur
d'Alene Mines Corp. <CDE.N> said on Monday it has no interest
in a "puzzling" silver subsidiary planned by Wheaton River
Minerals Inc. <WRM.TO>, the Canadian miner that Coeur is trying
to purchase.
"From Coeur's perspective, based on the limited information
available, the transaction is not one that Coeur would
undertake or approve," the Idaho-based silver producer said in
a letter to Wheaton's directors, five days after the
Vancouver-based firm said it planned to create a company called
Silver Wheaton.
Wheaton, which has rejected Coeur's C$2.5 billion ($1.9
billion) offer, plans to sell all of the silver produced at its
Luismin operation in Mexico to a shell company, in which it
will own an 80 percent stake.
The firm argued that the deal was aimed at unlocking the
value of its silver assets and at positioning Wheaton more
clearly as a gold miner.
But some shareholders questioned whether the transaction
was a ruse to get Coeur off its back by packaging its silver
asset separately for the world's biggest primary silver
producer.
Wheaton denied this, saying the deal would close after the
expiry of Coeur's takeover offer on Aug. 27. So, if Coeur's bid
is successful, it can decide to halt the transaction.
"We doubt whether the proposed transaction will have any
significant positive impact on Wheaton's market valuation,"
Coeur chairman and chief executive Dennis Wheeler said, adding
that his firm had viewed the deal with "some puzzlement".
((Reporting by Nicole Mordant, editing by Rob Wilson; Reuters
Messaging: nicole.mordant.reuters.com@reuters.net; +604 664
7315))
REUTERS
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