Mining holding company Randgold & Exploration (R&E) yesterday said the regulatory approvals necessary for the proposed merger between itself and JCI had not been secured.

Mining holding company Randgold & Exploration (R&E) yesterday said the regulatory approvals necessary for the proposed merger between itself and JCI had not been secured.

"In the interim, the boards of R&E and JCI have been engaged in negotiations regarding a possible settlement between the companies, however, agreement has not yet been reached," R&E said in a statement to the JSE.

Both R&E and JCI were formerly led by slain mining magnate Brett Kebble and the long-promised merger between the two companies was seen as a way to finally put to rest a drawn-out intercompany dispute.

The firms, which were used by Kebble to finance a raft of allegedly fraudulent transactions, have been caught up in litigation for years following claims that JCI owed R&E R6billion after money was shifted between the two companies.

Merging the two companies would neutralise the claims between the two companies and the value of the claims would be captured in the merger ratio.

"The board of R&E will continue to pursue all options open to it, but cautions that the less attractive option of arbitration remains a distinct possibility, despite the costs and delays associated therewith," R&E said.

The company last week lost its chairman David Nurek and chief executive Peter Gray, who announced their resignations within days of one another. - I-Net Bridge