Gold Fields Drops Pursuit of New Capital (GFI)

Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) has just filed to withdraw a securities shelf registration statement.  It lists circumstances in the securities markets, although that seems a tad odd when you consider that the market has been willing to gobble up secondary offerings since we recovered off the lows.

The direct quote in the filing from the company is:
The Company is requesting the withdrawal of the Registration Statement because the Company decided not to pursue its effectiveness under the Securities Act due to changed circumstances in the securities markets. The Registration Statement has not been declared effective and no securities have been sold pursuant thereto.

Even when you consider a 9% drop to $11.29 today in the ADR’s, this stock’s 52-week trading range is $4.64 to $13.99.  This has not held as much of a rally since the market’s lows in early March, but this has also hardly been a total let down.

This may make one wonder if the company is more concerned about what lies ahead for gold and commodity prices rather than what it sees today or what it has seen in the recent weeks.

Jon C. Ogg
June 22, 2009