Lonmin eyes talks with Xstrata on synergies
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's third biggest platinum producer Lonmin (LMI.L) said a merger with Xstrata (XTA.L) would lead to major synergy benefits and the firm would like to hold talks with its hostile suitor if a formal bid is made at a higher level.
"In the case of a combination between Lonmin and Xstrata we think there could be quite significant synergies," Chairman John Craven told Reuters on Tuesday.
"If Xstrata does come forward with an offer which is no longer conditional and one in a range where we might be getting somewhere close to where a deal could get done, I would hope they would find time in their busy schedules to meet... so that we could have a proper exploration about amongst things synergies, the future of the business, the quality of our development assets."
Lonmin had earlier on Tuesday rejected again Xstrata's hostile $10 billion takeover bid as undervaluing the firm. Xstrata, which has purchased a stake of 10.7 percent in Lonmin, unveiled its proposed all-cash takeover offer at 33 pounds a share for Lonmin on August 6.
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; editing by Rory Channing)
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