RiskMetrics Group and Glass, Lewis and Co. Recommend that New Gold and Western Goldfields Shareholders Vote "FOR" the Business Combination of New Gold and Western Goldfields
VANCOUVER, April 29 /CNW/ - New Gold Inc. ("New Gold") (TSX and NYSE AMEX
- NGD) and Western Goldfields Inc. ("Western") (TSX - WGI and NYSE AMEX - WGW)
announced today that RiskMetrics Group (formerly Institutional Shareholder
Services or "ISS") and Glass, Lewis and Co. have each formally recommended
that their subscribers vote "FOR" the proposed business combination of New
Gold and Western ("Transaction"). RiskMetrics Group and Glass, Lewis and Co.
are leading providers of proxy research and voting recommendations to
institutional investors in Canada and the United States.
Under the terms of the Transaction, shareholders of Western will receive
one common share of New Gold and C$0.0001 in cash for each common share of
Western. Upon completion of the Transaction, existing New Gold and Western
shareholders will own approximately 58% and 42% of the combined company,
respectively.
Highlights of the Transaction include:
- Diversified gold production base from three gold mines in mining-
friendly jurisdictions with forecasted gold production of
approximately 335,000 ounces in 2009
- Organic growth with cash on hand and cash flow from operations
sufficient to fund development of the New Afton copper-gold project
in British Columbia, Canada
- Delivery on industry consolidation and production growth in a rising
gold price environment
- Enhanced market presence providing increased liquidity
The Transaction is subject to, among other conditions, regulatory
approvals, court approval and obtaining a minimum two-thirds approval of those
shares voted at the special meeting of the shareholders of Western and
majority approval at the special meeting of the shareholders of New Gold. The
special meeting of the shareholders of New Gold will be held on May 13 at 9:00
a.m. (Pacific Time), at the Hotel Le Soleil, Mezzanine, Les Etoiles Room, 567
Hornby Street, Vancouver, British Columbia. The special meeting of the
shareholders of Western will be held on May 14 at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) at
the TSX Broadcast & Conference Centre, Gallery Room, 130 King Street West,
Toronto, Ontario.
Shareholders of both New Gold and Western are encouraged to vote "FOR"
the Transaction by completing, signing, dating and returning their proxy prior
to the proxy deadline of 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on May 11, 2009 for New
Gold shareholders and 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on May 12, 2009 for Western
shareholders.
New Gold shareholders requiring assistance in voting their proxies can
call Kingsdale Shareholder Services Inc., the proxy solicitation agent of New
Gold, toll-free, at 1-866-851-2484. Western shareholders requiring assistance
in voting their proxies may call the proxy solicitation agents of Western,
Laurel Hill Advisory Group (Canada) toll-free at 1-888-726-9092 or Innisfree
M&A Incorporated (United States) toll-free at 1-877-717-3929.
New Gold is an intermediate gold mining company with operating assets in
Mexico and Australia and two development projects in Canada and Chile. For
further information on New Gold, please visit our website at www.newgold.com.
The New Gold and Western Transaction presentation is available on the homepage
of both companies' websites.
Western is a gold production and exploration company with a focus on
precious metal mining opportunities in North America. The Mesquite Mine,
currently the Company's sole asset, was brought into production in January
2008. For further information on Western, please visit our website at
www.westerngoldfields.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information contained in this press release, including any
information relating to the proposed transaction and New Gold's or Western's
future financial or operating performance may be deemed "forward looking". All
statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact,
that address events or developments that New Gold or Western expects to occur,
are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements
that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by
the words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not
anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential",
"scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions, or that events or
conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All
such forward-looking statements are subject to important risk factors and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond New Gold or Western's ability to
control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on
estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause New Gold or Western's
actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within
the control of New Gold and Western and there is no assurance they will prove
to be correct. Such factors include, without limitation, that New Gold and
Western will be able to satisfy the conditions in the Business Combination
Agreement, that the due diligence investigations of each party will not
identify any materially adverse facts or circumstances, that the required
approvals (shareholder, third party, regulatory and governmental) will be
obtained; and all other conditions to completion of the transaction will be
satisfied or waived. capital requirements ; fluctuations in the international
currency markets and exchange rates of the currencies of Canada, the United
States, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Chile; price volatility in the spot and
forward markets for commodities; impact of any hedging activities;
discrepancies between actual and estimated production, reserves and resources
and metallurgical recoveries; changes in national and local government
legislation in Canada, the United States, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Chile
or any other country in which New Gold and Western currently or may in the
future carry on business; taxation; controls, regulations and political or
economic developments in the countries in which New Gold and Western does or
may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and
development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits;
diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; competition; loss of key
employees; additional funding requirements; actual results of current
exploration or reclamation activities; changes in project parameters as plans
continue to be refined; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral
claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties. In addition,
there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral
exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards,
industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins,
flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance or
inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks) as well as "Risks and
Uncertainties" included in the Annual Information Forms and MD&A for each of
New Gold and Western available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future events
could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. All of the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by
these cautionary statements. New Gold and Western expressly disclaim any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
For further information: For New Gold, M�lanie Hennessey, Vice President
Investor Relations, Direct: (604) 639-0022, Toll-free: 1-888-315-9715, Email:
info@newgold.com; For Western Goldfields, Hannes Portmann, Director,
Corporate Development and Investor Relations, Direct: (416) 324-6014, Email:
hportmann@westerngoldfields.com
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