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Newmont Mining to Buy Normandy, Franco-Nevada
in Bid to Become World's Largest Gold Producer

By CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press Writer
November 14, 2001

DENVER (AP) -- Newmont Mining Corp. has agreed to acquire
Australia's Normandy Mining Ltd. and Canada's Franco-Nevada
Mining Corp. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock in a bid to
create the world's largest gold producer.

The combined company, which would surpass South Africa's
AngloGold Ltd. for the top spot, would have 22 mines on five
continents, interests in eight other gold operations and
12,500 employees.

quot;This is what my colleagues and I have spent 16 years
building Normandy for,quot; Normandy chief executive and
chairman Robert J. Champion de Crespigny said
Wednesday.

Headquartered in Denver, the combined company would
produce 8 million ounces of gold a year and have 97
million ounces of gold in reserves.

The deal would infuse Newmont with cash from
Franco-Nevada, and Normandy would get a better offer for
its shares than what AngloGold had offered last year, said
Caesar Bryan, portfolio manager for Gabelli Asset
Management.

quot;This is a case of one plus one plus one, and it equals a
bit more than three,quot; said Bryan, who owns stock in all
three companies.

The industry has been hurt by sagging gold prices, but
company leaders expected the market to turn.

In New York Wednesday, gold was trading at about $280
an ounce. Comparatively, in early 2000, gold was trading
at about $310 an ounce, though still a far cry from its
1996 prices when it soared above $400 an ounce.

quot;All three companies strongly believe in gold,quot; said
Seymour Schulich, chairman and co-CEO of
Franco-Nevada. quot;This transaction will give the new
company significant leverage to the gold price and a
very strong balance sheet.quot;

The deal would give shareholders of Normandy .0385
shares of Newmont common stock for each Normandy
common share, plus 5 Australian cents (2 cents) per
share in cash if certain conditions are met. The deal
values Normandy at about 1.78 Australian dollars
(92 cents) per share, or about $2 billion.

Newmont, currently North America's largest gold
producer, would acquire the Toronto-based
Franco-Nevada for 0.8 of Newmont common stock
for each share of Franco-Nevada common stock,
valuing it at about 28.36 Canadian dollars per share
($17.72), or $2.8 billion.

Franco-Nevada holds a 20 percent interest in
Normandy, Australia's largest gold producer, thus
reducing the combined value of the deal to $4.4 billion.

Newmont's bid for Normandy is 21 percent higher than
a $1.7 billion offer made in September by AngloGold.

Wayne W. Murdy, president and chief executive of
Newmont, will become chairman and CEO of the
combined company, with Franco-Nevada chief Pierre
Lassonde becoming president. De Crespigny would
gain a spot on an expanded Newmont board.

The deal, which has been approved by the boards of
directors of all three companies, still needs shareholder
and regulatory approval.

If the proposal falls apart, Newmont would receive
$100 million in breakup fees from Franco-Nevada
and 38.33 million Australian dollars ($20 million)
from Normandy.

Newmont shares were trading at $20.37, down $1.88
or 8 percent, Wednesday afternoon on the New York
Stock Exchange.

Shares of Franco-Nevada were trading at 24.77
Canadian dollars ($15.56), up 1.57 Canadian dollars
on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while shares of
Normandy finished at 1.46 Australian dollars (76 cents),
up 20 Australian cents, on the Australian Stock Exchange.