Equinox Minerals Ltd.’s counter offer for Lundin Mining Corp. is so low that it’s leaving an opening for Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. to enter the bidding war, Bloomberg News said Thursday:
Lundin, a Toronto-based copper and zinc producer, was 1.2% above Equinox’s average cash-or-stock offer of $7.77 a share as of Wednesday, signalling traders who bet on mergers and acquisitions expect a competing bid. Equinox, owner of Africa’s largest copper mine, made its unsolicited $4.6-billion (US$4.7-billion) proposal Feb. 28, a month after Lundin agreed to a takeover by Inmet Mining Corp. Equinox has offered a 14% premium, the lowest counter bid for a diversified-minerals company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
