Newcrest Spurns Newmont’s $17 Billion Offer But Leaves Door Open

Newcrest Mining Ltd. rejected an initial $17 billion takeover bid by US rival Newmont Corp., with the Australian miner’s interim CEO saying the company was “worth a lot more.”

It did offer some hope to its suitor, however, by indicating it’s prepared to provide access to its books on a non-exclusive basis.

The all-shares dealwould have been the largest globally this year and created the world’s biggest gold miner. Newcrest is an attractive target because of the comparatively long life of its gold assets — more than 20 years — as well as its deposits of copper.

“The ...