Carrie Tait, Financial Post

In a move that would drastically alter the domestic merger-and-acquisition landscape, the Toronto Stock Exchange is considering changes to Canada’s takeover rules to give shareholders of companies attempting to swallow other public companies the chance to vote on the deals.

The TSX is asking the market whether a shareholder-approval requirement should be implemented for deals in which the acquiring company must issue shares from its treasury, creating dilution, in order to buy another public company. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange — three of the world’s largest markets — already have shareholder-approval rules in place that are triggered when a certain level of dilution is hit.

“It would have a big impact on transaction structuring,” said Aaron Emes, a partner at Torys LLP in Toronto. “More cash, less shares, potentially favouring a private-equity player versus a strategic [buyer] who was planning on issuing shares as currency.” Read more

China’s recent loan to the Democratic Republic of Congo in return for mining leases and control of tolls over road and rail infrastructure built from the loan could be an effective tool to control those competing for Africa’s rich mineral assets, according to a London fund manager.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has just agreed a loan for $5bn from China, not much less than its average annual GDP over the past few years. Congo wants to use the cash to build 6400 kilometres of railways and roads, hospitals and health centres, two universities and government housing units, said the International Herald Tribune. The country will pay off the loan by granting China mining concessions, as well as toll rights for the roads and railways constructed with the borrowed money.

China has got about $1.3trn worth of savings and announced in January they were going to buy mineral assets directly. Nations building infrastructure using money sourced from Beijing will be beneficial to other countries and mining firms, said Carmel Daniele, CEO of CD Capital in London. Read more

De Beers Consolidated Mines agreed to sell a number of its Kimberley Tailings Mineral Resources to the Small Miners Forum.

Under the agreement, the Small Miners Forum will assume the environmental rehabilitation liabilities at the resources of ZAR 26 million (about $3.9 million,) and will pay ZAR 0.68 cents per tonne of material at the tailings, amounting to approximately ZAR 10.36 million ($1.6 million.) As of August 15, 2007, the tailings consisted of 14.5 million tonnes of tailings and 745,000 tonnes of stockpile.

The Small Miners Forum also paid for additional, separate resource consisting of approximately 43.5 million tonnes of tailings.

These tailings have accumulated as a result of the mining and processing of the primary kimberlite pipes of Bultfontein, Dutoitspan, De Beers, Kimberley and Wesselton Mines in South Africa. The retreatment of old tailings has been a major source of production in the Kimberley area since 1978. Read more

An application has been made by Hillgrove Resources to redevelop the Kanmantoo copper mine, south-east of Adelaide.

The Adelaide hills mine has been derelict since the 1970s but has been extensively tested by Hillgrove over the past two years.

Tests indicate it has the capacity to produce 290,000 tonnes of copper and more than 200,000 ounces of gold.

Hillgrove Resources has lodged its mining lease proposal with the South Australian Government.

Public comment will be invited for six weeks.

Hillgrove has already agreed to deal with more than 100 recommendations from the local community. Read more

LOCAL markets shuddered as a severe bout of global risk aversion knocked the JSE 2% lower in line with other equity markets yesterday, putting heavy pressure on the rand as the dollar rebounded from record lows.

Sharp falls in prices for gold and platinum — two of SA’s key exports — added to the volatility and fanned fears that capital inflows will subside if there is a widespread retreat from emerging markets.

Analysts said the turmoil, sparked by renewed concern that credit market losses would curb global growth, took markets by surprise and might deepen over the next few days.

“It’s all about risk reduction … there is nothing particularly South African in this story but we are looking very exposed,” Absa Capital chief economist Jeff Gable said yesterday.
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CRANE supplier SA French yesterday said it would list on the JSE to increase capacity as it was turning away 20% of business because it was not coping with the unprecedented demand for plant and equipment in the robust construction and mining industries.

SA French chairman Quentin van Breda said the Gauteng-based company was set to debut on the JSE’s AltX next month to facilitate expansion and help boost inventory to meet demand. The company had held the exclusive rights for the supply of Potain tower cranes in southern Africa for the past 25 years, and recently extended this exclusive arrangement for five more years.

Van Breda said the company has further diversified into complementary materials-handling equipment sourced from Europe’s leading manufacturers.

These included Merlo telescopic handlers and self-loading concrete mixers; Torgar material, passenger hoists and working platforms; Ausa dumpers and rough terrain forklifts; and Ormig “pick and carry” machines.
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Australian stocks fell, led by Macquarie Bank Ltd., after the New York Times reported Merrill Lynch & Co. will probably add about $2.5 billion more in writedowns in the wake of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.

“Everyone has been reminded of what the credit crunch can do to you,” said Adnan Kucukalic, a Sydney-based strategist at Credit Suisse Group. “The credit crisis isn’t over. People are realizing that there may be more to come, not just from Merrill Lynch, but from others as the year goes on.”

Commonwealth Bank of Australia led a decline by banks after a report showed core inflation accelerated more than estimated in the third quarter, raising the chances of an interest-rate increase next month.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 26.5, or 0.4 percent, to 6,634.4 as at the close in Sydney, reversing an earlier gain of 1.1 percent. About 10 stocks dropped for every seven that climbed. Read more