SCHEDULE 14a
(Rule 14a-101)
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
Filed by the Registrant |_|
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant |X|
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|_| Preliminary Proxy Statement
|_| Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by
Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
|_| Definitive Proxy Statement
|X| Definitive Additional Materials
|_| Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12
ECHO BAY MINES LTD.
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(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
KINROSS GOLD CORPORATION
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|_| Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
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(3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed
pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the
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Kinross: Holder Mtgs On Echo Bay, TVX Deal Expected Soon
By Lynne Olver
12/20/2002
Dow Jones News Service
(Copyright (c) 2002, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
TORONTO -(Dow Jones)- Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC) expects to announce later Friday
the meeting dates at which shareholders will vote on the proposed merger with
TVX Gold Inc. (TVX) and Echo Bay Mines (ECO), Kinross Gold president Robert
Buchan said.
After a lengthy Securities and Exchange Commission review of the preliminary
proxy materials, Buchan said the companies are confident they can now go to
shareholders for approval of the transaction. He declined to provide the
proposed meeting dates.
The key issues the SEC examined were related to the harmonization of U.S. and
Canadian GAAP, Buchan told Dow Jones. "It comes down to the fact that U.S.
regulatory authorities are uncomfortable with anything other than U.S. GAAP," he
said.
In November, the three gold producers extended the termination date in the
merger agreement to Jan. 31, and said they anticipated that special shareholder
meetings would be held in early 2003. The deal was announced last June.
Other gold-company executives have said that the SEC has created some
uncertainty for companies seeking approval of merger documents. As reported,
Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) president and chief executive Randall Oliphant said at
a recent investor seminar that the SEC sometimes takes a different approach to
even Canadian and U.S. GAAP definitions, and these may not be consistently
applied by the mining industry. Oliphant said at the conference that this may be
causing delays when mining companies approach the SEC for approvals.
Brian Christie, an analyst with Canaccord Capital Corp. in Toronto, said a
number of "standard issues" have come up to make SEC reviews longer, including
metal price assumptions and reserve statements. "I think it might put a damper
on the (gold company) consolidation theme, and it may even impact companies'
abilities to issue equity," Christie said.
Assuming Kinross, Echo Bay and TVX complete their merger as planned, the
combined entity's larger market share and lack of hedging activity should be a
bigger draw for institutional investors, Christie said.
Based on Thursday's closing stock prices, the combined company's market cap
would be about C$3.5 billion.
Kinross is a very liquid stock, Christie added, because there's a large
retail-investor base.
He doesn't own shares in any of the three companies. Canaccord has an
investment-banking relationship with Kinross and TVX.
The three companies said their combined production will be 2 million ounces a
year with total cash costs of less than US$200 an ounce and high leverage to the
price of gold.