Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) Getting Competition for Andean Bid?

Speculation and rumors are swirling around the bid by Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) for Andean (TSE:AND), where names like the original suitor, Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) has been thrown around, with additional gold miners like Kinross (NYSE:KGC) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) also being offered as potential candidates to launch a bidding war.

Since Kinross isn't that much larger than Eldorado Gold, it probably couldn't be considered a serious contender for the potential bidding war, as their market cap is a little over $12 billion, while Eldorado's is about closer to $10 billion.

Goldcorp has a market cap of about $32 billion, making it pretty much impossible to compete in a bidding war with the by Eldorado and Kinross.

Barrick could obviously compete, but they haven't shown any interest at this time in Andean, and much of the value of the bid is based on potential rather than proven reserves.

Too high of a bid would make the acquisition more of a trophy than a practical success.

The interest in Andean is based on the possibilities of hidden resources which have yet to be discovered at its Cerro Negro gold project in Argentina.

With that in mind, it would be unusual for a bidding war to ensue based on speculation and theory, rather than proven resources.

It could happen, but it would be somewhat irresponsible on the part of those who may participate in it.