(Source: Canada Newswire)
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.
