ASHANTI Goldfields Limited might delist from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) if a deal to merge with South Africa's AngloGold Limited gets the nod from the Ghanaian government, which has a 16.9 percent stake in the company, the Business Daily established this week.

A joint statement released by the gold mining groups early this week indicated that the company created by the merger, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, would be listed on the Johannesburg, New York, London and Ghana stock exchanges.

The statement reads in part: "Following completion of the merger, the combined group will be listed on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa, the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Australian Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris and quoted on Euronext Brussels.

"Application will be made to list shares and Ghanaian depository shares of the combined group on the Ghana Stock Exchange, where the combined group will trade as Ashanti AngloGold."

There was no mention of the new company listing in Zimbabwe, and sources close to the matter said

AngloGold and Ashanti officials had indicated that the ZSE would be too small for the merged entity and that Ashanti Goldfields might be delisted from the ZSE.

AngloGold Ashanti Limited will be worth a staggering US$8.7 billion (Z$7 169 billion).

However, AngloGold executive officer for corporate affairs Steve Lenahan told the Business Daily yesterday that AngloGold had not taken a final decision on the delisting of Ashanti.

But he acknowledged that the Zimbabwean market was too small for the merged group, and this would be taken into consideration when a decision was made on whether to delist Ashanti or relist the new group.

"At the moment, AngloGold has not taken a final position decision on the final listing of the new company," Lenahan said from New York, where the two companies were briefing analysts.

"It (delisting) is one of the things we will apply our minds on between now and the time the new company is listed. Yes, Zimbabwe is a small market and it's one of the issues we will look at when we decide."

Efforts to secure comment from Ashanti media relations executive Kweku Awoti were hampered by difficult telephone lines in Accra.

It was also not possible to secure comment from ZSE chief executive Emmanuel Munyukwi.

However, sources said a senior Ashanti official from Ghana had been in Zimbabwe at the end of June and had indicated that after the merger, Ashanti "was most likely" to delist from the local share bourse.

The merger deal hinges on the Ghanaian government, which, on top of its 16.9 percent stake in Ashanti, has a "golden share" that allows it to veto the transaction if it deems it necessary.

Ashanti's largest shareholder, Lonmin Plc, which has a 27.6 percent interest, has, however, said it will back the merger deal.

The Ashanti board has also agreed to vote in favour of the deal with AngloGold. The merger deal is an all-scrip offer based on an exchange of 26 AngloGold ordinary shares for every 100 Ashanti shares.

Analysts said it made sense for Ashanti to delist because its share price was already too expensive to attract a sizeable number of investors in Zimbabwe. Ashanti closed yesterday's trading at $24 000 a share.

In any case, analysts said, Ashanti's shares on the ZSE were too few and after the merger, they would be further diluted, making delisting the only viable option.

"If you look at Ashanti, it is very expensive and there are very few shares which are tightly held," an analyst with Kingdom Stockbrokers said. "Even now, you will rarely see any Ashanti shares changing hands."