Nkwe Platinum’s marriage proposal for Tony Sage’s International Goldfields could be finalised by October, with a price likely to be settled within six weeks.
 
As representatives from both groups met in London last night, International Goldfields (IGC) said it planned to stitch up an agreement by October — well ahead of the February deadline.
  
Investors marked IGC’s share price up to 35.5¢ on the news before it closed unchanged at 35¢, while Nkwe slipped 5¢ to 75¢.
  
Under the agreement announced earlier this month, Nkwe paid IGC $100,000 and 2.5 million of its shares for a six-month option to buy its interest in a South African platinum joint venture. If Nkwe exercises the option it will launch a takeover bid for IGC.
  
The deal had disappointed some investors who feared Nkwe might exercise its right to extend the option for a further six months, which would mean long negotiations.
  
The purchase price will be based on two independent experts’ valuations of IGC’s stake in three platinum-rich farms in the Bushveld complex of South Africa. The IGC expert’s valuation is expected in four to six weeks and Nkwe’s before that.
  
Sources close to the deal have suggested it could value IGC at nearly $1 a share.

INTERNATIONAL GOLDFIELDS LIMITED.. (IGC)

INTERNATIONAL GOLDFIELDS LIMITED.. (IGC)

Top section of chart - price performance

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