Placer Dome to shareholders: “Wait.”

With Barrick Gold (ABX-T, ABX-N) officially submitting its hostile bid for Placer Dome (PDG-T, PDG-N) to regulators in Canada and the U.S., Placer’s board has responded by advising its shareholders to sit tight.

Placer’s directors tell shareholders “not to take any action with respect to the offer until the board has evaluated the offer and communicated its views to shareholders, which it will do within the legally required time period.”

The Barrick offer of US$20.50 a share in cash or 0.75 of a Barrick share plus US5 per share in cash is 24% above Placer Dome’s US$16.50 closing price on Oct. 28 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Barrick needs approval from 66% of Placer shareholders, who have until 8 pm Eastern time on Dec. 20, 2005 to accept the offer or decline it.

If Placer Dome shareholders accept Barrick’s US$9.2-billion offer, the enlarged Barrick would overtake Newmont Mining (NMC-T, NEM-N) as the world’s largest gold mining company, with output of roughly 8.3 million oz. annually and reserves of 150 million oz.