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~j~i; Battle Mountain to merge <br />CHASE from Page 1 C <br />~ since slid <br />~ part of the way back, <br />ring 1Fednesdey lY;2E5.80. <br />} .Rind producers have reacted by <br />C olidating, seeking to reduce <br />~ td~'rnsts through bigger, more ef- <br />fiwant operations. Last week, Gold <br />F~pjds Ltd., Lhe No. 3 U.S. produc- <br />eAj~greed to x;1.84 billion merger <br />pvt6 Canada's Franco-Nevada <br />~ _ Ftfning Corp. Until Wednesday, <br />'~apever, Newmont had watched <br />tirmerger activity from the side- <br />, ~ <br />'. .'~'pdd Hinrichs, an analyst with <br />t~~ Amro, said the time was right <br />for-Tiewmont, whose stock has per- <br />W~ied well compared with its in- <br />dustry peers. <br />~~Gwmont shares closed at;22.38 <br />1ednesday, down 69 cents but <br />~, shave August's 52-week low of <br />;16,.,18. Battle Mountain, on the oth- <br />I .et Viand, closed at ;2.25, up 31 <br />' .Ipi -but down from its 52-week <br />'. tt)gb„of ;4.19 in September. <br />~nrichs said investors punished <br />NetVmont on Wednesday as they <br />' Mould anyone investing in gold. But <br />tledhinks they'll come around when <br />tlie>rsee the value of Lhe deal. New- <br />. moot is one of the lowest-cast gold <br />.producers in the industry, Hinrichs <br />i~id, and Battle Mountain share- <br />h~liers will benefit from its solid <br />' ssoegement and deep pockets. <br />"This is a very good acquisition, <br />very well thought out," he said. <br />The deal may not be viewed so <br />positwety in Houston, where New- <br />mont will shut Battle Mountain's <br />headquarters. Some of its 50 execu- <br />tives and administrative employ- <br />ees there will lose their jobs, said <br />Newmont spokesman Doug Hock. <br />It was unclear tednesday <br />whether Battle Mountain chairman <br />and acting CEO Karl Elers would <br />join Newmont. <br />Newmont employs 9,300 world- <br />w)de, including 200 in Denver. Bat- <br />tie Mountain employs 1,500. <br />The deal, atax-free merger <br />known as a "pooling of interests," <br />must be approved by ttie Seburities <br />andi Exchange Commission ai1Q <br />Battle Mountain shareholders, <br />Hock said. <br />Newmont will pay just over o~ <br />tenth of drye of its shares for ea1f6 <br />of $atlle'Mountain's 230 million <br />~L't~i~Ht~t'$'~{~ <br />million. Newmont also will assume <br />battle Mountain's ;199 million in <br />debk <br />