Hit #73

Placer Dome (PDG), the gold producer, agreed to a higher bid of $10.4 billion from Barrick Gold.

I had bought a few shares after the earlier offer was rejected, hoping for a bidding war. Placer shares are trading as if the market is expecting an even higher bid.

Placer stockholders can opt for cash or stock. I will be going for cash. The cash offer, amounting to $22.5/share, is a tiny premium of 2.6% over my average cost of $21.93/share.

I am still a long-term believer in mining stocks. I own a few shares of Newmont (NEM), Bema Gold (BGO), Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) and a good number of silver stocks like Couer d'Alene (CDE), Apex Silver (SIL), Pan American Silver (PAAS).

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Previous hit - Pegasus (#72)